Each February, Alice 105.9 FM radio in Denver sponsors the 36 Hours for Kids Telethon supporting The Children's Hospital. The telethon always represents a special three days for Marti and me. We listen to story after story of kids and their fights of survival, and of course relive our time at The Children's Hospital with Chance when he was two.
Six months after Chance left the hospital Alice did this fund raiser. I was working at home at that time and decided to take Chance down to Children's and watch the telethon in person. Jennifer Wild, who was one of Alice's morning DJs at the time, spotted Chance eating an ice cream cone and approached us to ask what brought us down to the telethon. I told her our story not realizing she was a member of the radio station.
Within minutes, Chance and I had headphones on and were on the radio sharing our story. (Chance had ice cream all over his face while we were doing the interview.) I thanked Jennifer for allowing me to speak and she gave me a hug when we left. The next night, as all of the radio personalities were closing out the telethon, each was sharing their favorite kid story from the week. Marti and I were both listening while driving in separate cars to meet for dinner. To our shock and amazement, Jennifer Wild said, "My favorite story was about the little boy Chance who contracted E. coli." She got that far and began to cry—never able to finish.
I remember Marti calling me saying, "Are you listening to this? She's talking about Chance." We both began to cry on the phone with each other. I'll always remember that moment.
That brings me to this year's telethon. They had two mothers on the radio who told their story. In summary, one little girl named Skyler stopped breathing in her father's arms and died due to a hole in her heart. That story reminded me of when Chance stopped breathing in Marti's arms. Two months later, Skyler's best friend from day care, Loryn, was admitted to The Children's Hospital with the same defect.
During surgery, Loryn stopped breathing. The doctors revived her and when she was stable she shared the following story with her mother: "I saw Skyler, we were playing and then we took a nap. Then she wrapped her angel arms around me before I woke up."
Simply amazing! I appreciate the courage of those two mothers sharing their story on the radio. I found tears streaming down my face after I heard them.
The telethon ends today (Friday, February 18). I encourage everyone to call 1-800-458-Kids and become a "miracle maker." For $15 a month (.50 cents a day) you could help the kids at The Children's Hospital and help miracles happen. Please tell others to make this call as well. This amazing hospital is responsible for saving the lives of many children, including my son Chance. They deserve our support!
Click here to learn more about the telethon, and Alice 105.9 FM
Stay safe! —Kip
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