Run/Walkathon a Success!!!

Hello everyone!!!  I finally have a little bit of free time to tell you about the Run/Walkathon this past Saturday!  It went very well!  It was a little chilly at first, some clouds, and a lot of wind - but at about 1:30 or so the sun decided to come out for us.  We had a great turn out - Dr. Mann was there with his nurse Cathy, and they were able to give a couple of announcements and explain to everyone what Of One Heart is all about and how it helps local children.  He ended up running 4 miles!!!  Good job Dr. Mann!

We had a massage therapist there doing chair massages, which were awesome!!! Thanks Courtney, I will definitely be giving her a call next year to see if she would like to do it again, because everybody loved it!  The hot dogs and cookies from Papa's Dogs and More were also a hit!  They were delivered nice and warm and were eaten right away.  We had some leftovers when we were done that we sold to some of the fans that were there:)

Also, a girl I have met recently that works with my husband came, her name is Tara.  She was also born with a cleft lip and palate and has had numerous surgeries by Dr. Mann.  At about 2:00pm everyone was done walking/running and we all gathered around in a circle.  Tara and I had a chance to tell our stories about our surgeries and our lives.  While Tara was talking I kept getting a little teary - her story reminded me so much of mine!  I have never met anyone who knows almost exactly how I feel!  I was very touched by her presence there as were many other people.  And I have also made a new friend, how awesome!

Along with Tara there were two other people at this event.  One of them is Kelsey, when she was born, the plates that make up her skull were fused together, leaving no soft spots, and no room for her head and brain to grow.  She had a surgery by Dr. Mann when she was an infant to allow her skull to grow and form properly.  She was there and her story is stapled to my board (a board I crafted just for this organization, it hangs up in my room at work.)  Another family was there, my new friend Julie and her daughter Addisyn.  Addisyn is about 4 weeks old and was born with a cleft lip, her palate is fine.  Julie and Addisyn had not met Dr. Mann yet and were very anxious to meet him.  Addisyn is adorable, she has to wait until she is at least 10lbs to start her surgeries, but I have no doubt that she will be a beautiful girl!

Dr. Mann had some really cool and interesting things to say about this organization.  Of One Heart will soon be rolling into a larger non-profit organization called Healing the Children.  This is an international organization that helps children with all sorts of deformities.  Of One Heart will be the local division for this organization, and it will also have a new name - I can not for the life of me think of it right now, but I will let you know as soon as I remember!  He was also excited to tell us all about the changes in how doctors are treating these deformities.  They are able now to reduce the number of surgeries needed to fix this, for example, I had 13 surgeries to fix my cleft lip and palate, and children who are born now may only need 5-6 surgeries to fix this.  That is awesome!  What a great change!

Well, overall we raised $4058 for Of One Heart!!!  The first place winner, which is the participant who raised the most money, was my dad; he raised $1010!!  He won a $25 Gift card to Striders and a $25 dining gift card.  The second place winner was Tara, she raised $680!!  She won 2 free 8 oz sizzler meals at Branns and one month free membership at the YMCA.  The third place winner was the Morris Family, who raised $500!!!  They also won 2 free 8oz sizzler meals at Branns.  What an awesome and amazing event!  I had so much fun planning this and have met so many amazing people.  I can not wait to do it again next year!  Thanks for reading!