Why I'm Fundraising for Team NYP - For Jimmy!

I'd like to invite you to contribute to my fundraising campaign for NewYork-Presbyterian. I hope you will support this cause, which is particularly special to me. 100% of your donation supports Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital, specifically the Child Life program. This program provides emotional and pyscho-social care to help make the hospital experience as manageable as possible for the kids and their family.

In June 2019, shortly after his 6th birthday, my son Jimmy was hospitalized at Morgan Stanley. He had a very invasive bacterial infection in his femur bone, which also spread to his blood and his lungs. Our little guy was in ICU for a few weeks, lost a ton of weight, and couldn't walk. The collaborative team at NYP was fantastic - the nurses, the ICU doctors, the floor doctors, infectious diseases, ortho, hematology...it was quite frankly amazing the way they all came together to help my son fight this infection and get well. It was a long process, requiring months of care, but he did it! The Child Life resources were critical to his care and overall experience. Now, when Jimmy recalls his time in the hospital, instead of remembering the trauma (we can leave that memory to me!), he remembers video games and the fun Child Life resources that made the stay manageable.

It was such a scary time, full of fears of some of the worst things, including a fear that he would never be able to walk again. Now Jimmy is 10 years old and he uses his strong and healthy legs to run...and run fast! He loves running track and competing in races. Since I started running a few years ago, he has taken such great interest in my progress. I think he is my biggest fan!

So, this is for Jimmy! This eternally grateful mom will run her first marathon (yikes, 46 years old and I can't believe I am doing this!). I want to show him that I can work for something so challenging, and that's not just the race! I set my fundraising goal at $20,000 because I want my kids to rally around such a good cause. Let's be BIG!

As an added incentive, Scott and I will match your contribution up to $5,000. Let's do this!

Debbie