Help me make my miles matter more this summer by helping children coping with serious illness

Hello, My granddaughter Eden is the reason I have chosen to do this. My granddaughter is now eight years old and was recently hospitalized for yet another surgery, a step procedure. While she was there she was introduced to the beads of courage. A physical and visual story of what she has gone through in the past eight years. At birth we were told that she may not make it. That my daughter and son-in-law would have to prepare for the worst. No parent or grandparent ever wants to hear that they may lose someone so special after just being born. What we thought would be a surgery to fix one condition became a lifelong condition. She was born with short gut, a condition that most children are not expected live very long if at all. Her life has been one with constant worry that she may not make it home at any given point should she be hospitalized. But from the beginning she proved to be a fighter. With every surgery, every hospital stay, every stick, office visit, she showed everyone that she was going to make it. This last visit was particularly hard for her because unlike the past when she was young she had to come to terms with the fact that just because she felt OK didn’t mean she was. She is an eight years old full of energy and with a can-do attitude. Unfortunately, reality had to set in as she had to except that she could not do all the things she wanted to do just yet. The beads of courage gave her something tangible. Something she could see and hold onto that represented all that she had been through. As she told me the meaning behind the beads you could see it on her face that she was proud of all that she had survived. It also reminded her that her current state was not going to last. The encouragement that such a small token; a bead, could hold so much meaning for one so young.
Together we can encourage children coping with serious illness with every step, stride, hill climb, and every lap we swim!

Just a small donation will go a long way to helping me meet my goal for Beads of Courage