St. Jude Marathon

A friend of mine,Logan Friday, my brother-in-law, Zach, and his sister are running in the St. Jude Children's Marathon in December. Logan is raising money for St. Judes and has a goal of $1,000! Right now he's at $700. If you would like to donate his link is:
https://waystohelp.stjude.org/sjVPortal/public/displayUserPage.do?programName=heroes&eventId=55854&userId=395472
Most of the donation that help St. Jude each year come from the small $25 not the 3 millions. Every penny counts! I am so thankful for them and others that are participating in this run to raise money.

It cost over 1.4 million dollars a day to run the hospital and is primarily covered by donations. It’s a wonderful place because families never pay for treatment not covered by insurance. In addition, they take care of all your needs like providing food, lodging, transportation, and treatment. These are all things that parents need when they arrive in a new city, are emotionally a wreck, and are trying to take care of their sick child. The research at St. Jude is cutting edge. They were the first to cure the most common form of childhood leukemia, acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), helping to drive the cure rate from 4 percent in 1962 to 94 percent today. They give hope to families and allow them to focus on fighting the cancer, not paying medical bills that for most would be impossible to cover.

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital will always hold a special place in my heart. When I was little, I HATED the doctor because I associated it with needles. At St. Judes the chance of getting depressed, poked, nauseated, get infections, have procedures & test is to the extreme. So, why do I love it so much? I'm going to try and describe it, but know I won't adequately describe my emotions. It's a place you’ll have to visit, and I think you'll truly understand what I’m trying to convey. To say that children are running down the halls laughing and playing with each other, says a lot. They have nurses and doctors that care for patients in a whole different manner. They recognize that children are scared and sick of treatments. They know that everyone in the family is worried and stressed. People come from all over the world and have different cultural backgrounds. They're flexible and do whatever way makes a child feel comfortable. They come to work each day truly happy to be there. They have empathy, love, compassion, and provide support and friendship. I have truly developed a bond with my doctors and nurses. It is because of my wonderful experience at St. Jude that I decided to pursue a career in nursing. I want to be that nurse at St. Jude that helps a child feel comfortable and know they can trust me.
(One of the lukemia doctors) (Each Department came up with a theme-the halls and doors where decorated to reflect it too)
See, with pictures like these, how can you not have a smile and have fun!