The Nationwide Children’s Hospital Columbus Marathon and ½ Marathon is October 21st and we’re honored to be the event’s title beneficiary. As we countdown to the Marathon we’ll introduce you to our “mile champions.” These 26 special children and teens, each with a moving story to share, will be designated a mile along the event course. They will serve as patient ambassadors – to motivate participants and engage the entire community in this vital fundraising event. Each child will have a fundraising page for their mile and many of the miles will have corporate sponsors.

This week we introduce you to Matthew Griffin

Age: 15
Hometown: Pickerington, OH
Condition: Bicuspid Aortic Valve

When Matthew Griffin was only 9 months old, his pediatrician discovered that he had a heart murmur. Matthew was referred to The Heart Center at Nationwide Children’s, where he endured extensive testing.  His parents were terrified. The smile on their doctor’s face calmed their fears, as they learned that although Matthew had a potentially serious malformation known as a bicuspid aortic valve, he was in the very small but fortunate percentage of people who have no life-threatening effects. Matthew’s heart functions properly.

Matthew’s heart remains stable at every yearly exam.  However, the experience of walking into Nationwide Children’s and seeing the kids who aren’t as lucky as Matthew struck a nerve with the Griffin family. Matthew, now 15, dedicates himself to research studies at Nationwide Children’s. Despite having to be poked, prodded and stuck with needles – Matthew was eager to help because he knew he was “one of the lucky ones” and he wanted to do his part to assist researchers in understanding and treating the condition – maybe helping other children sometime in the future.

We invite you to learn more and join Grief’s team.

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The Nationwide Children’s Hospital Columbus Marathon and ½ Marathon is October 21st and we’re honored to be the event’s title beneficiary. As we countdown to the Marathon we’ll introduce you to our “mile champions.” These 26 special children and teens, each with a moving story to share, will be designated a mile along the event course. They will serve as patient ambassadors – to motivate participants and engage the entire community in this vital fundraising event. Each child will have a fundraising page for their mile and many of the miles will have corporate sponsors.

This week we introduce you to Ellie Trout

Age: 10
Hometown: Worthington
Condition: Congenital Heart Condition/Down Syndrome

Ellie Trout’s enthusiasm in contagious – Her smile and joyful heart will greet runners and walkers finishing Mile #2 of the Marathon!  Little Ellie was born in July of 2002, and four months later she had heart surgery at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. Ellie has Down syndrome, and this marked the first of many surgeries she would endure. After countless doctors, operations, extended hospital stays, and unexpected complications, Ellie became stronger and her personality continued to shine.

This year, Ellie is 10 years old. She plays baseball, does gymnastics, dances ballet, and loves cheerleading and Justin Bieber – not unlike most 10-year-old girls. Ellie is the child she was meant to be.

Cheer your way through Ellie’s mile on the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Columbus Marathon!  We are hopeful to have a number of local cheer groups join and support Ellie and her mile.  If you are involved in cheerleading and would like to volunteer at Ellie’s very special rally station on October 21^st please email Lindsey Gulliver, our marathon coordinator.

Also our thanks to Hyundai who is sponsoring Ellie’s mile and also providing transportation for our patient champions on race day.

We invite you to learn more and join Ellie’s team.

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The Nationwide Children’s Hospital Columbus Marathon and ½ Marathon is October 21st and we’re honored to be the event’s title beneficiary. As we countdown to the Marathon we’ll introduce you to our “mile champions.” These 26 special children and teens, each with a moving story to share, will be designated a mile along the event course. They will serve as patient ambassadors – to motivate participants and engage the entire community in this vital fundraising event. Each child will have a fundraising page for their mile and many of the miles will have corporate sponsors.

This week we introduce you to Hunter Miller
Age: 9 months
Hometown: Vincent, Ohio (Although Hunter has called Nationwide Children’s home since his birth)
Condition: Complications of Prematurity including BronchoPulmonary Dysplasia (BPD)

Hunter Miller may be our tiniest Mile Champion but his courage far outweighs his size.

Born 3 months too soon and immediately transferred here for open heart surgery– Hunter has spent his entire life here at Nationwide Children’s with his mom, Cassidy constantly by his side. Going through this experience has been especially challenging for the Miller Family as Hunter’s dad, Dewey was deployed through the Army National Guard just two months after Hunter’s birth. Cassidy has been staying in touch with Dewey through regular calls and Skype but she says the weeks have felt like months with him away.

Thankfully, the entire family has a great support network and Hunter has been making steady progress. Through good days and bad, Hunter continues to inspire those around him with his resilient spirit. The Miller family is looking forward to Hunter’s Discharge from the neonatal intensive care unit and reuniting their family.

We are honored to have Hunter as his parents as our Miracle Mile Champions. Their mile will be dedicated to “Hunter’s Heroes” and in honor of Hunter’s fighting spirit will be sporting a military camouflage theme.

What Moves You? Get Involved!
Sign up for the Half-Marathon (13.1 miles) or Full Marathon (26.2 miles) – Runners and Walkers Welcome –
Become a Children’s Champion – If you’re already registered for the Marathon help fundraise for Nationwide Children’s Hospital while you train. We have all the tools to help you get started and motivate you along the way. Volunteer –Just email Lindsey at Lindsey.Gulliver@nationwidechildrens.org. Hundreds of volunteers of all ages are welcome and needed.

The post Meet Miracle Mile Champion #8: Hunter Miller appeared first on It's The Little Things.

The Nationwide Children’s Hospital Columbus Marathon and ½ Marathon is October 21st and we’re honored to be the event’s title beneficiary. As we countdown to the Marathon we’ll introduce you to our “mile champions.” These 26 special children and teens, each with a moving story to share, will be designated a mile along the event course. They will serve as patient ambassadors – to motivate participants and engage the entire community in this vital fundraising event. Each child will have a fundraising page for their mile and many of the miles will have corporate sponsors.

This week we introduce you to Sophia Schumm
Age: 11 months on June 13th
Hometown: Pickerington
Condition: Complications of Prematurity including Hyperbillirubinema and Congenital Heart Disease

She has the face of an angel and the fighting spirit of her favorite pixie, Tinkerbell. Meet Sophia Schumm and prepare to have her capture your heart.

Sophia’s mom, Billie Jo has plenty of experience with sick babies – she is a neonatology nurse at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. When her daughter was born a month early with five little holes in her heart, Billie Jo knew that baby Sophia was in good hands with The Heart Center team at Nationwide Children’s. The Marathon on October 21st will mark exactly one year from the date of Sophia’s open heart surgery and at almost one year old, she is a happy baby with an infectious smile and an affinity for Tinker Bell. Her family plans to dedicate Sophia’s mile to her favorite character with lots of pixie dust and tutu’s. Join Team Tinker Bell and dedicate your race to brave little Sophia!

What Moves You? Get Involved!
Sign up for the Half-Marathon (13.1 miles) or Full Marathon (26.2 miles) – Runners and Walkers Welcome –
Become a Children’s Champion – If you’re already registered for the Marathon help fundraise for Nationwide Children’s Hospital while you train. We have all the tools to help you get started and motivate you along the way.
Volunteer –Just email Lindsey at Lindsey.Gulliver@nationwidechildrens.org. Hundreds of volunteers of all ages are welcome and needed.

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We love to make our patients smile. And while we do everything we can here for them, it never hurts to have some outside help to really brighten their day.

Today, we had a very special visitor. It’s hard not to get excited when a world-class athlete like Lauren Cheney visits. This young woman is a soccer superstar. She’s a member of the U.S. National Women’s Soccer Team, a forward on the Women’s Professional Soccer league Boston Breakers and a 2008 Olympic Gold Medalist.

But despite all her successes on the field, she started out like many of our patients here; facing an enormous obstacle at a young age. She was born with a type of congenital heart defect – Atrial septal defect (ASD) – a hole between the two atrial chambers of the heart. She had open heart surgery at just 3 years old. Now as an adult living with a congenital heart defect she has continued to experience extraordinary success on and off the field. During her visit she really just had one message for our heart patients.

Roughly 36,000 children are born each year with a congenital heart defect, the most common birth defect. About 1.3 million Americans with congenital cardiovascular defects are alive today thanks to the advances in research and treatment.

Learn more about our Heart Center and support our life changing research and surgeries.

Every heart patient matters. Every gift matters, large or small. Please consider supporting the patients we serve.

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