Melissa Mayfield's Fundraising Page
Melissa Mayfield is raising money for The Bell Center for Early Intervention Programs
- Fundraising page goal: $1,500.00
- Total donations to date: $1,015.00
- Total contributions: 31
Dear friends and family,
As many of you know I am training to run the Mercedes half marathon on February 10, 2008. Now those of you that know me best are thinking...Is she crazy? Haven't we been through this before and by the time she crossed the finish line she was saying "I am glad I reached my goal and can now say I ran a half marahon, but I am so glad that is over and I NEVER want to do that again!" Well, that was true even up until a couple of weeks ago when I learned of an amazing organization and a precious little girl that touched my heart and motivated me to pull out the long distance running shoes again.
I am running in honor of Rachel Beuoy. She is a sweet little two year old child with big , beautiful dark brown eyes. I have now met Rachel and spoke with her family and caregiver and learned much more about her. Rachel was born in July of 2005 and is 2 years old. She was diagnosed soon after birth with an undetermined genetic disorder because of many abnormalities. At 2 weeks old, she recieved a tracheotomy tube to help her breathe. This means she requires 24 hour care and cannot cry and make noises like other babies. Rachel was in the NICU at Children's hospital for over 2 months. She has had to make many return trips to Children's since birth. She also has been diagnosed with hydrpcephaly which is where the brain makes extra spinal fluid and it doesn't drain properly so they have to go in and put a shunt into her brain to drain it. Because of the late diagnosis, she has a very large and heavy head which have made it difficult for her to ever crawl and to learn to walk. She works very hard on learning to walk and we believe she will one day, even if it means needing the assistance of a walker.
She is beginning to sign with us to communicate and her family is more than thrilled. She has two very difficult surgeries coming up - one for a tethered spinal chord and another for a chiari - which is where part of the brain dips
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