It is now 1 month until the final mile event at Wisconsin Lutheran College’s Raabe Stadium. I hope your running is coming along as well as your reading. If you are new to running, it should be getting easier the more you do.
Charity
I wanted to share with you one of the people you all are donating funds to as a part of the charitable contribution portion on the WELS Kids Marathon. Luke Currier is participating in this years WELS Kids Marathon. Here is the story as written by his parents:
Our story began back in 1996. Luke was born with a rare disease called Klippel-Feil Syndrome. It affects several areas of the body. In Luke's case, his spine, kidneys, and heart were affected. When Luke was 2 years old he had open heart surgery to repair an ASD in his heart. At 3 years old, Luke again had surgery to stabilize his spine. The neurosurgeon and orthopedic surgeons fused c-1 and c-2 together. We have been going for follow up visits for the past 11 years. We have always been given a clean bill of health and I actually let my guard down and let him 'be a boy'. I of course think every boy should be wrapped in bubble wrap, but that is another story...This past month (April) at our annual checkup we were informed that Luke is in danger of a 'significant spinal event' that is Dr. speak, for really bad. He is at risk for either a life ending injury or if he survived he would be a quadriplegic. This is because the spinal cord in the area of c/3 and c/4 is not protected by his spine. The only things protecting his spinal cord are his neck muscles. Obviously our choice was made for us. Luke is scheduled for a c-3/c-4 spinal fusion on May 5, 2010. He will be operated on at 1pm at Lutheran General Hospital. It is located in Park Ridge, IL. We are having the same surgeons, Dr. John Ruge (neurosurgeon) and Dr. Steven Marjetko (orthopedic surgeon) who preformed his spinal fusion in 1999. The road to recovery is going to be a long one. – Kris Currier, Luke’s mother
Luke had his surgery May 5th and was able to return home on May 8th. His surgery lasted just over 4-1/2 hours and his recovery time will be a minimum of 8 months (from time of surgery). He was notified by his doctors that he will no longer be able to play baseball or basketball, two sports every young boy loves to play. But Luke assures us he will be the best golfer ever…J Other than a slip on the bleachers while watching his friends little league game and 16 stitches later, I am happy to inform you that Luke is doing well.
Luke and his younger brother Noah along with their mother have been walking and just have been thankful for the bonding time they get. It has truly become a highlight of their taking while on their mile walk together!!!
For more information and Luke incredible journey, please visit the website below.
http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/lukecurrier
Volunteers
We are still looking for a lot of volunteers for the final event on August 28th. If you are available to help out, please mail us at welskidsmarathon@yahoo.com. All the work is very easy and most allow you to be able to be there when your child is running the final mile. We are in need of the following:
Course Marshall's to keep the kids safe
Food Prep Set Up
Registration/Packet Pickup Table
Clean Up Committee
Medal Hand Out
Sponsors
We like to highlight our sponsors here. Without them, we would not be able to put on this event the way we feel it should be put on. Sky High Marketing has been out tshirt supplier for 2 years now and they give us a major discount and are a very professional company to work with:
Sky High Marketing specializes in apparel, promotional products, and design services. The company has a great showroom filled with client projects and product examples. Learn more about Sky High Marketing online at http://www.skyhighmarketing.com/ or contact them at 262-542-8286.
Also, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans has helped us our tremendously. “Nearly 3 million members turn to Thrivent Financial for Lutherans to help meet their financial needs. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans offers a wide range of competitive products and personal service. We are committed to serving Lutheran families, communities and congregations. Proud sponsor of the WELS Kids Marathon.”
Southeast Wisconsin Region
20800 Swenson Dr. Ste 175
Waukesha, WI 53186
262-432-6280
We also have some new sponsors which include Midwest Sports Events and Dupont Cheese – Marion. Thank you very much for helping our program.
Bango Is Back!
We have recently been informed that Bango from the Milwaukee Bucks will be back again this year at the final event of the WELS Kids Marathon. There are no basketball hoops at the track so we won’t be able to see Bango do his YouTube famous dunk off a 16 foot ladder during this years NBA playoffs, but he will the there for pictures, high fives, and maybe some running as well. This is one time you do not need to Fear the Deer.
Website
There is a website (http://kidsmarathon.blogspot.com/) with all the information you may need concerning the 2010 WELS Kids Marathon. Some sections you will find on the website include: Frequently asked questions, directions to the Final Event, course map, sponsor links, updates, etc. Please feel free to leave us a comment on the site as well.
Future Updates
In the next few updates, we will share with you a list of all the door prizes we have to give away at the final event. You must be present at the final event to be eligible to receive a door prize.
Final Event
A friendly reminder that the final event begins at 9:00AM and we ask that all participants arrive no later than 9:30 as we anticipate large lines to get through the packet pick up tables. We are planning a system to make this process smooth but we also have almost 400 participants that need to get there goodie bags.
Thank you,
WELS Kids Marathon Organizing Committee
Bill Schneider – WELS Kids Marathon Director
WELS Kids Marathon Committee:
David Habben
Belinda Matter
Gwen Scherf
Sally Schneider
Greg Uehling
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
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