Birthday Request..

I didn't mention this earlier, but today is my birthday!!  

YEA FOR ME!  

I am turning 30!

(Actually, thanks Mom - 

She had an 11 lb baby she deserves an award!

and yes I was 11 lbs, I hope I don't get paid back for that!!)

Since it is my birthday, I was hoping I might ask for a little gift from you all... I just got an email from my former sister in law Stephanie and I thought I would forward it on to you all if you are feeling charitable, let me explain a little about this.

11 years ago this month my family suffered an awful loss.  My brother and his wife were expecting their first child.  They had the most beautiful baby boy I have ever seen in my life.  Our hearts were all broken when we found out that Nathan was born with a spinal malformation that paralyzed him from the neck down.  This malformation also destroyed the center of his brain that controlled breathing and as a result he lived for only 15 days.

As a new mother myself, my heart can hardly comprehend what this loss must have been like for my brother and sister in law.  The only relief can possibly come from God and even with his support it is hard to understand such a trial.  But we do believe that we will get to be with him again, and are so thankful for our Savior that has made that possible.

In honor of my nephew and to raise money for research on spinal injuries my sister in law is running a marathon this year.  Here is what her email said:

Hello dear family and friends-

I am running another marathon this fall and am raising money for the Christopher Reeve Organization. As many of you know, my son, Nathan Kimball Oertle, was born 11 years ago this Saturday. He was born with a spinal cord injury that baffled the doctors. No one knew what was wrong with him until 4 months after his death. From autopsy, we were able to determine that he had a malformation of the spine. Due to the rare instance of this kind of malformation, articles have been written by his physician in the past few years. 

This year, I will run the marathon in support of research in this complicated area. I have set a fundraising goal. I am hoping that I can exceed it! 

This year, when I cross the finish line, I will have raised awareness of the quality of life, as well as frequency of these injuries.  In addition to my son, my own cousin was paralyzed in his teen years from playing football. These injuries are more frequent than we know! 1 in 50 people is affected by such an injury and/or paralyzation. Please help me support this cause and visit my webpage for further information!!!

Thank you all. Please forward this on to anyone I may have missed or you think might donate! If everyone donated just $10-$25, I would reach my goal in an hour!!! And, don't forget, your donation is tax deductible!

Love,

Steph

I would love to see if we can help her reach or exceed her goal.  If you have anything to spare from a dollar to whatever I would be thankful to you for helping out.