I am raising critical funds for histiocytic disorders.

And YOU can help!

For the last 4 years have joined a Milwaukee tradition of 100's of people heading downtown to Bradford Beach on January 1^st. Then at noon a loud bell is rung and everyone runs into Lake Michigan. I decided that I would do it and raise money for Histiocytosis at the same time.  You can help me reach my goal by donating and by joining me on January 1^st 2017.  I would love the company as we all rush in (and out) of great big Lake Michigan.  If you are interested in joining me you can email me at pulling4kids@gmail.com and I will get the details out to you about where and time to meet.

I was born on September 14^th, 1998. In my first eight weeks of life I had 13 visits to either the doctor, urgent care or an emergency room.  This included a 3 day hospital stay because of an uncontrollable fever of 104.  During those first 8 weeks I had several spinal taps, ultrasounds, CT scans, MRI’s, bone marrow biopsies, a liver biopsy and way too many blood tests to count.  At one point my veins were so hard to find that I had to have an IV put into the vein in my head.  The doctors at Children’s Hospital were baffled until one oncologist remembered that a colleague of hers from the University of Minnesota Hospital was doing research into a rare blood disease.  She contacted him in his home country of the Netherlands.  She sent him all of my test results and after a conference call they came to my diagnoses.  I was then diagnosed with multisystem Langerhans Cell Histiocytosis, also referred to as LCH.  The diagnosis was scary for my parents; however, it came just in time as my liver had swollen to the size of a NFL football and the only way to hold me was if I was lying on a pillow with nobody touching me.  I had a Central Venus Line put in my chest for the medication and started chemotherapy at nine weeks old.  If it wasn’t for that oncologist I may not be here today.

Histiocytic disorders are a group of diseases that occur when there is an over-production of white blood cells known as histiocytes that can lead to organ damage and tumor formation. This group is made up of a wide variety of conditions that can affect both children and adults.

While the search for more effective treatments and, ultimately, a cure continues, the Histiocytosis Association is dedicated to supporting and empowering the patients and families who live with these devastating diseases every day.

Please help me reach my fundraising goal. Make a gift today!

Thank you for supporting me and the Histiocytosis Association.