Cooper and Carson were born prematurely at 31  weeks. Both kids fought a tough battle. Carson spent 26 days in the NICU and Cooper spent 39. We thank God everyday for the nurses and doctors in the NICU at Children's Hospital - Fox Valley. If it weren't for them, I am not sure where we would be today.

At 4 and 5 months, Carson and Cooper were both Dx with having Craniosynsotosis - premature closure of the skull bones. Surgery is the only cure.

In Aug and Sept. of 06, Cooper and Carson both had their Cranio Vault Repairs done for their Craniosynostosis.

We should find out in a few weeks if Carson will be in for another cranio revision. At this point, her skull is not growing fast enough for her brain.

We can not say enough about the surgeons we had. We take our hats off to  Dr. John Jensen our Cranial Facial Surgeon, Dr. Bruce Kaufmann - Cooper's Neurosurgeon, and Dr. Cheryl Muszynski - Carson's Neurosurgeon. 

As many of you may not know, Riley, Keegan, and Carson have been diagnosised with a rare genetic brain disease called A. Chiari Malformation. This is a benign structural problem affecting the cerebellum. Most children with these malformations who do not have spina bifida will have the form known as type I.

Essentially there is extra cerebellum crowding the outlet of the brainstem/spinal cord from the skull on its way to the spinal canal. This crowding will commonly lead to headaches, neck pain, funny feelings in the arms and/or legs, stiffness, and more often will cause difficulties with swallowing or gagging.  This problem may stay the same or eventually get worse as they gets older. The only cure is surgery.

In Feb. Riley underwent her decompression surgery for chiairi. All seems to be going well.

This August, Carson will be having her 2nd cranial vault repair, and Cooper's 2nd will follow sometime this fall.

Please help us reach our goal so we can give back to those who helped us.

Donating through this site is simple, fast and totally secure. It is also the most efficient way to make a contribution to our fundraising efforts. Many thanks for your support -- and don't forget to forward this to anyone who you think might want to donate too!

Please do not shy away if our goal gets met. Every penny counts.

To give an example of the cost to stay at Children's hospital, our NICU bill for both kids was $750,00 without anything else - just room and board. If parents do not have insurance or a way to pay, the hospital eats the cost. We would like to help. Please help us. 

Each year, more than 200,000 visits are made to Children's Hospital of Wisconsin by the children of our state, Michigan's Upper Peninsula and northern Illinois.

To represent these kids and their families, we invite patients of our Neonatal and Pediatric Intensive Care Units and Hematology/Oncology/Transplant Unit to be our featured guests at Briggs & Al's Run & Walk for Children's Hospital.