Thank you SO much for being here!!

On October 13th, I will be representing Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) at the 2024 Bank of America Chicago Marathon!  As a member of Team RMHC, I will be training, fundraising and ultimately running 26.2 miles to help keep families together.

The Ronald McDonald House is very near and dear to my heart. As many of you know, our daughter Lily was born 5 weeks early on Valentine's Day 2021. I was transferred by ambulance from Cape Cod Hospital up to Tufts Medical Center in Boston. Lily was a total rockstar, but had to stay in the NICU for 19 grueling days while her breathing matured enough for her to come home. 

Tufts was about a 90 minute drive from home, so we decided to stay in a hotel across the street from the hospital. (Nobody told us there was a Ronald McDonald House in Boston!)

 And guys, it was ROUGH. 

First off, it was expensive. We did get a discount for being parents of a patient, but 19 nights added up. We didn't have access to a kitchen, so we ordered takeout. Every meal. For 19 days. That was a LOT of Starbucks and Au Bon Pain. We also didn't have access to laundry. And your girl didn't bring a lot of clothes (don't pack anything, they said, the hospital will give you everything, they said). So, we ended up washing our clothes in the hotel bathtub every night and hanging them to dry over the shower rod. Not ideal.

I say all this just to show that, especially when you have a loved one in the hospital, every little thing becomes so much harder. It's even worse when you're far from home and don't have any of the creature comforts that you're used to. Little things like laundry and being able to cook can have a big impact on families just trying to get through the day. And the BIG thing? It's of no cost to families.

So I'm raising money for the Ronald McDonald House Charities to help the moms and dads who have to do something really friggin hard- leave the hospital at night without their baby. To help make things just a little bit easier, and take some of the secondary burdens off of their plate. 

Did you know RMHC helps millions of families each year? RMHC helps families cope better and focus on the needs of their sick child, allowing them the ability to spend more time with their child, to interact with their doctors, and to make important decisions about their child’s care.

It costs approximately $100 to give a family one night of comfort and support.  Your donation, of any amount, will not only help me achieve my goal, but will help children stay close to their families when they need it most!