We want to extend a heartfelt thank you to each and everyone of you. Thanks to you, TeamHOPE raised nearly $10,000 to help save other little babies like ours. We earned the number one Mission Family Team spot in the state of Colorado and are in the top 15 in the country (we won’t know our exact placing until the numbers are all in.)  WOW! As an added bonus, I won an award for the #6 walker spot (which I couldn't of done without Kim). Whether you donated money, collected cell phones, purchased items, walked with us or gave us moral support, we couldn't have done it without you.

This year my friend Kim Speelman asked me to join forces with her family. Kim and her family dedicated their Walk to Megan when they were the Ambassador Family in 2004. The Speelman family was touched by prematurity because their twin boys were born 14 weeks too soon and weighed a little over 2 pounds each. I am pleased to say Kiley and Kooper are now very healthy and bright 1st graders. While our families realize just how blessed we have been, we also know many babies and their families aren’t so fortunate. We formed TeamHOPE in HOPE that no family will ever have to go through what we did. Our HOPE is that some day, every baby will have a healthy start. Together we HOPE to make a difference. And with your help, we just may have made a difference in other families’ lives.

TeamHOPE made quite a presence at WalkAmerica in Denver. We were 23 people strong. We were thrilled to have our friend Elaine Cooper and her daughter Claire join us as well as our other good friend Laura Cardoso; not to mention Toni Burkheart from "Lit'l Angels"  joined us as well.  We had a great time and it was wonderful to see so many people willing to give up their Saturday to come out and support the cause that is near and dear to our hearts.

I was not only Co-Captain for TeamHOPE, but I was also a committee member on the Mission Family Team Committee. Mission Familes are the face to the cause. Our families have been touched by prematurity and we are the reason people walk. The goal was to share as many of our stories as possible. I, along with Kim (The committee Chair) hosted the Mission Family tent.  We had our story as well as several other families stories posted all over the tent. Many of the stories had happy endings like ours but many did not. Our tent was always packed. There were many tears of joy and sadness shed. It was a great experience for those of us who shared our stories as well as for those who read them. It made the reason for WalkAmerica very real.

We truly believe that if it weren’t for the March of Dimes we wouldn’t have our beautiful little Megan with us today. Research funded by the March of Dimes, including surfactant therapy and specialized newborn care, helped save Kiley, Kooper and Megan’s lives. No one is working harder than the March of Dimes to understand the causes of prematurity or to find preventions and treatments.  All the money we raised will be used to support the March of Dimes programs of research, education, advocacy and community service.