Colton's Army Virtual 5K

Just a matter of weeks after my son was born, I took him to the pediatrician because of his projectile spit up (lovely image, eh?) and general colic-y behavior. As a first time mom in the first month or two of his life, I called the doc a lot.  After being handed a prescription for baby Zantac, we were referred to Seattle Children's for an ultrasound, just to rule out anything that might be going on in his intestines.  When the doc at Children's came in with the results, he said that his digestive system was fine, but that they found something else...  Aaaaand I just about fainted, literally.  He had an inflamed kidney and we had to go through a bunch of tests to make sure that all of THOSE pipes were working just fine (and they ended up being just fine).  But, it involved watching my barely two month old baby being strapped down and given a catheter, or smooshed on a papoose board for x-rays after being given an IV with contrast dye.  Holding your teeny baby while he's given an IV is no picnic. 

He was this big...

 



All the nurses there are so wonderful and always have tissues on hand for the mommies, because they know most times it's harder on us.  In the end, all of his tests were fine and they concluded that it was something he'd most likely grow out of.  So we went for regular ultrasounds over the course of about two years - until everything cleared up, and that was that. 

Suffice it to say, I spent a lot of time at Seattle Children's early on in my son's life and it was a constant torture to worry about not just my own child, but the dozens of children that were at the hospital for far greater concerns.  Seeing kids go through serious illness is like getting a punch in the gut. Even more so once you become a parent: you immediately picture your own child in any horrible circumstance that befalls another child, whether it's something you see on the news, at Children's or happening to someone right in front of your eyes - as is the case for friends of Colton.

Hiker mom over at Living the Fit Life is hosting a virtual 5K to raise funds for her friend's son Colton who was diagnosed with a rare form of leukemia in 2009.  After going into remission, his cancer has struck back and treatments are experimental (aka EXPENSIVE).  Participating in this virtual race to help a child is a no brainer, and I also have some major angst toward cancer in general. 

So, the first 3.1 miles of my run today were dedicated to Colton and his family; hopefully they'll forgive me for not racing it too hard, as I'm still taking it easy on my hamstring!

 

 

 



To make a donation or learn more about Colton's Army, please head on over to Living the Fit Life.