Its that time of year again. October. Time for pumpkins. Hoodies. Bonfires.
And the Small Wonders Miracle Walk :)
Its the annual fundraiser for the neonatal intensive care unit at the Children's Hospital of Illinois. It was started 5 years ago by a group of NICU parents who wanted to give back to the NICU.
Its hard to describe the connection that we, as parents of NICU graduates, have with the NICU staff. I mean basically, they were like the 3rd parent to our babies at a very critical time in their lives.
It is a connection that will always be there.
I can't and don't even want to imagine what our lives would be like today, had it not been for the neonatologists and neonatal nurses who took such awesome care of our babies.
The Children's Hospital of Illinois NICU is a Level 3. That's the highest level.
It is one of the best NICUs in the country.
Do you know that our NICU serves 24 counties in Illinois?
24 counties!
That means literally dozens upon dozens of hospitals are sending their smallest and sickest babies to Peoria.
750 babies come through the NICU each year.
There are many families traveling long distances. Just to be with their babies.
How fortunate are we, to have this awesome facility right in our backyard!
The Small Wonders Miracle Walk and Silent Auction will be Saturday, October 15 at the Riverplex in Peoria. Auction opens at 9am. Walk is at 10.
We have an amazing silent auction committee that has been working very hard getting donations together. We have Disney tickets! And Continental Airlines tickets! Along with lots of great local business donations too. There's something for everyone :)
We also have a lot of fun things going on for the kids. We have inflatables. The Unique Twist will be doing balloon creations. Zoo Lady will be face painting. And new this year, the Glitter Fairy will be doing glitter tattoos!
Its also a really neat opportunity for families to reunite with the doctors and nurses who took care of their babies in the NICU. As you can imagine, this can be a very emotional thing. Its my favorite!
Money raised through this event will directly fund patient and family centered programming specifically in the NICU.
Consider this.
No one ever PLANS on needing the NICU. We certainly didn't. But the moment our babies were born at 29 weeks and 5 days, weighing just 3 lbs and 2 lbs 9 oz, suddenly we DID need it, in a tremendous way. And they were there for us when we did.
Join us in supporting a wonderful cause.
Babies. The tiniest and sickest ones.
If you are unable to come to the event but would like to make a donation, you can click here.
