Dear Friends, 

I am writing to ask you to consider supporting a cause that is very dear to my family. 

Our story is a frightening one, but it also has a very happy and miraculous ending. 

Four years ago, I nearly died and so did my son. 

When I was six months pregnant, I was driving home from an appointment when I began to feel faint. Before I could park on the highway’s shoulder, I fainted and subsequently reversed onto the highway and was ejected 30 feet from the vehicle. My unborn son and I sustained life-threatening injuries. While I was in critical condition, Nationwide Children’s Hospital’s NICU saved my baby boy, Gus.  

Two years later, Children’s Hospital helped us again with our second son, Jonas, when he was only 7 weeks old. Due to RSV, his lungs collapsed and he needed to be put into a medically induced coma.

Thanks to Nationwide Children’s NICU and PICU, my two miracle boys are here - happy and healthy. 

Even though all of this took place under the challenges of the pandemic, the teams at Nationwide Children’s Hospital truly cared about us. They connected with us and helped us emotionally as well as physically. And when we needed it, they were able to make the hospital feel like a home. A safe place in all of the chaos of our circumstances.

My own journey back to this race has been a long one. As a lifelong runner, the car accident left me in a coma with brain bleeds, a collapsed lung, requiring 18 blood transfusions, 12 broken bones, including a fractured spine, rib, pelvis, and a two-foot metal rod in my femur. The recovery had its challenges including a seizure, subsequent surgeries, and the loss of my job. It took two and a half years before walking without pain was possible, which made chasing around my two wonderful and rowdy boys all the more challenging. 

One of the many things that motivated me during my rehab was to return to running and eventually run this race (Yes, THIS race). Running and fundraising for this cause, to me, is a celebration of my family’s journey and a thank you.

Thank you for reading our story. I ask for your help in supporting the hospital that has touched my family so dearly.