March of Dimes Do-It-Yourself Fundraising

Leading the Fight for the Health of all Moms and Babies

When I worked at Lurie Children's Hospital in downtown Chicago I saw a lot of beautiful, healing moments but also experienced many troublesome moments. I will never forget a particularly painful case that came through the pathology department.

One afternoon, I noticed what we call a brain bucket in the lab. As the name implies, brain bucket's were typically used in non-pediatric settings to contain large specimens like adult brain, breast or intestines. So it was curious to see in a pediatric hospital.

The medical staff didn't know what the specimen was because it had not yet been reviewed so I asked to perform the preliminary intake. What I saw inside still shocks me...

The contents were the legs of a 13-month old infant who had suffered a neurological disease causing paralysis from the waist down. This was a genetic disease... so there was nothing his parents could have done to stop it... of course there was nothing the baby could have done but even worse... there was nothing his physician's could have done...

My heart hurt for this small baby and his family. My colleagues had to pull me away from the case seeing how engrossed I became in it's details - I was trying to figure out why modern medicine couldn't save an infant from amputation.

The funds I raise will help March of Dimes invest in cutting-edge research for neonatal diseases, like the one that took the legs of a child before he could even walk. 

March of Dimes also uses funds for legislative advocacy and for local programs like Supportive Pregnancy Care and NICU Family Support.

Thank you for reading my story and for your contribution. Every donation to March of Dimes makes a real difference in the lives of children!