Thank you family and friends for all your support and your donations, My goal is to raise $1,500.00 If you're able to donate, it's tax deductible and any donation is greatly appreciated and it goes to directly to Phoenix Children Hospital.
Currently I just started to train for the PF Chang Half Marathon in January of 2011. Last year I finished at 2:30. My new goal is to finish in 2 hours.
Many of you know my story. I had a very difficult pregnancy, I was on bed rest for seven weeks, and four of those weeks I was in the hospital. I was informed early in the pregnancy that there was good chance that the pregnancy was going to be a premature delivery. Throughout the pregnancy, we were very scared and prayed for the best. The night of September 4th, 2008, our little miracle started to tell us he wanted to come out and meet the world. Since he was not due for another nine weeks, this was a bit of a surprise. At 7:05 a.m. the next morning, Ian Maley Burgess was born at Arrowhead Hospital. Since he was born nine weeks prematurely, he had many complications. He was born with a hole in his heart, bleeding in the brain, and he had to be put on a ventilator to assist his lungs with breathing. A few hours later he was being air-vaced to BannerThunderbird Hospital. We were informed he would be spending a few months in the hospital. The following week was an emotional roller coaster for us. It seemed every time we took a step forward, we would take two steps back. They tried to remove him from the ventilator but his little lungs were not strong enough to breathe on his own. On his eighth day of life he was air-vaced (again) to Phoenix Children’s Hospital, just when we thought he was getting better. The next two months were very difficult. We practically lived at the hospital. It seemed as if he was making progress, but then we would have another set back. His health started to stabilize and we were finally able to bring him home on October 24th, 2008.
Even though, he was home, we were not out of the woods yet. He had to be on oxygen, around the clock, as well as being on a breathing and heart monitor. Our home looked like a hospital with oxygen tanks and tubes all over. It was nerve racking every time his alarm when off (even though most of the time was a false alarm). Slowly his health started to improve, and he started getting stronger and today he is completely off oxygen and any machines. The hole in his heart closed on his own. The bleeding on his brain is completely healed.
Phoenix Children’s Hospital continues to monitor Ian’s health. We believe because of the hospital’s excellent medical staff, Ian was able to overcome these tremendous obstacles. I’m extremely grateful to hospital and I feel it is my social responsibility to give back to the facility that gave me my healthy baby boy.
Ian is now 23 months old, 27 lbs, and 35 1/4 inches height. He's very energetic and is a very happy toddler. He's walking and mostly running, and we have received a clean bill of health from all his doctors. He doesn't seem as though he had a rough beginning. I truly believe that Phoenix Children's Hospital saved my son's life!!!
Thank you for visiting my Personal Fundraising Page. Donating through this site is simple, fast and totally secure. It is also the most efficient way to make a contribution to my fundraising efforts. Many thanks for your support -- and don't forget to forward this to anyone who you think might want to donate too!