Welcome to my 2018 Walk for Kids page! I hope that you will join me in raising money for seriously ill children and their families. Be sure to check back to view my progress, and please share this page so that I can reach my fundraising goal!

For more than 30 years, Ronald McDonald House Charities of Southern California has been dedicated to creating a community where children and their families embrace life and healing with a sense of hope, enthusiasm, courage, and joy through the operation of Ronald McDonald Houses, Ronald McDonald Family Rooms, Camp Ronald McDonald for Good Times, a Community Grants Board and four Scholarship Programs. When you participate in the Walk for Kids, you are showing your support for families who are facing the fear and uncertainty of having a seriously ill child. 

I personally have also benefitted from the Ronald McDonald House. Around 5 years ago, I started with what seemed like a normal case of hiccups at first. We were out to dinner one night and I just started hiccuping, no big deal, right? They'll certainly go away in a little bit, or so we thought. Over time, it became clear that something wasn't right because not only did the hiccups not go away in a days time, they didn't go away in a weeks time, or even in a months time. To make matters worse, they were getting faster and it was becoming painful and difficult to breathe. They eventually got close to 200 "hiccups" per minute. My parents brought me to doctors all over New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and even Maryland, but I was told more times than I could count that I was either faking it, that it was psychological, or that I just needed to learn how to breathe differently. During this time, I was seeing a chiropractor that thinks outside of the box and he found that electrical stimulation on a titanium plate I had in my head from a previous surgery actually stopped the hiccups. So, he lent me a TENS unit and I lived with it taped to my head for close to a year as doctors looked at me like I was a bizarre freakshow that, for whatever reason, was faking this somehow to get attention or get out of completing my college education. As my mom searched for answers and someone that could help, she was told of a doctor in California that was thought to be able to help and she was encouraged to get me out to see him. We didn't know what type of situation was awaiting us in California. We didn't know if we were going to receive the same treatment that all of the previous doctors gave or if this doctor was going to be the one that could quite literally save my life. We also needed a place to stay that was affordable while we were out in California. If it was going to be a long visit and if the doctor was going to be able to help me, we weren't going to be able to afford to stay in a hotel for all of that time. That's when we found out about the Ronald McDonald House in Orange County. They gave us a place to stay, food to eat, and staff members that would listen. Thankfully, the doctor was willing to attempt surgery to treat my hiccups and reoccurring Trigeminal Neuralgia, too, so It was going to be a long trip. The Ronald McDonald House gave my family and me a home away from home and over time, the staff members became just like family members to us. We would not have been able to go see the doctor in California were it not for the Ronald McDonald House, and had that been the case I'm not sure what type of shape I'd be in today if I were even still here. It may seem like it's nothing more than a place for patients and families to stay, but the Ronald McDonald Houses around the world actually help save lives too. I'm living proof of that. Please consider donating if you can and share the link around so that this great organization can get the funds to save other lives, too.      

If you are interested in making a secure online donation to help me reach my fundraising goal, please click the red Donate Now button to the right of the page. 

Thank you for your support! We hope to see you at the 2018 Walk for Kids!