Day #8053 - The Bigger Picture

You'll have to pardon me, readership. I'm not usually one to get up on a soapbox and tell other people what they should believe or how they should live their lives. But today's a little different because there is a worthy cause which deserves the attention.

Right now, WTMX is sponsoring the 11th annual Eric & Kathy 36-Hour Radiothon for Children's Memorial Hospital and this is my 11th year listening in. Year after year, the stories they tell are heartbreaking and yet so full of hope. Hour after hour, I listen and am reminded of how blessed I am with health and that it is therefore my responsibility to help those less fortunate than myself. These children are my heroes - some of them are only hours old, yet they are already far braver than me and fighting for their lives. Medical issues like cancer are already fighting for research funding, and pediatric cancers get even less. They have tumors and cancers and challenges greater than I could ever imagine, yet these children fight day after day. Surgeries and chemo and radiation and test after test after test, yet they consider Children's their second home and continue to fight with a smile on their faces and a courage I've never known. The doctors, nurses, administration, everyone at this hospital believe in what they are doing and want nothing more than to treat these truly inspirational kids.

So I encourage you to take a half hour and listen in to 101.9 FM or on the WTMX website- the message is strong and these kids are resilient. If you're not in a position to donate money to this cause right now, then at least take a moment to take a look around and count your blessings, to appreciate what you have. These families do that every day their children are still with them. And who knows what tomorrow will bring? The radiothon ends at 6pm on Saturday, and I sincerely hope that everyone takes the time out of their busy lives to listen in and take it in - it's a cause that's worth all our time. What's more important than taking care of children? It's so easy to get bogged down in the day-to-day headaches and think we've got it bad, but just think of the bigger picture.