A local radio station is one of many in our region hosting a 'telethon' for LeBonheur Children's Medical Center in Memphis, Tennessee.

I cannot say enough about this hospital and all it does for families with children in need of serious medical help.  Can you imagine at all, having a terrible accident and you child being injured, or being born with serious health problems that require not only immediate attention, but specialized medical treatment.  You are scared for your child and very uncertain about what is going to happen.  You travel from on location to another -- trust me, the longest ride of your entire life -- and begin a journey that you pray no other parent will ever have to take. 

For us, it was the longest 3 hour drive we've ever taken.  We had to immediately coordinate home and 7 other children there.  Everyone was separated and afraid in those first many hours.  The children here at home didn't know what was going on, and as much as we wanted to let them know things would be alright, we didn't know ourselves yet to what extent Jacob had been burned.  You just cannot imagine the well-spring of emotions that you walk through in those first many hours.

All you want to do is hold your baby and close your eyes...waiting to wake up from whatever dream you are having.

It breaks me heart just to remember those first hours.  I cannot even go back and read that first entry telling everyone here what happened.  None of us can.

There are close to 2000 children and their families that do that very thing, each year, just at LeBonheur alone.

Last year, in November, our 6 year old was severely burned by an exploding spray paint can at our burn pile in the backyard. The can exploded up into his face, his upper arms on both side, and the fronts of his legs. Our 3 year old was with him, and thankfully, suffered no more than a 'sunburn' effect from the explosion.

We spent 2 weeks in their burn unit...daily debriding, daily therapy and treatments, medicines and more.

I cannot say enough about this hospital and their staff. The time we spent there, yes, I'd rather never have been there, but we could not have received better treatment for our son anywhere else.

Jacob is doing fine now -- no lasting scar tissue, no disability from the burns at all. He gets a bit more 'red' while playing and riding his bike, but he could have suffered so much more!

Our youngest, Miss Emily, had her surgery done at LeBonheur, also. She was born with a hemangioma on her left shoulder. After nearly 2 years, she finally gained enough weight to safely have her surgery done. Her scar will be very minimal and she has no lasting damage either, despite the depth of her hemangioma.

I pray that everyone reading this will think deeply about clicking on the LeBonheur logo above and offering a small miracle to help the many children LeBonheur serves each year....and the grateful parents who are there with them. Even a small donation would be a miracle for someone!