We Are the Champions!

One thing our family has learned since Ari was diagnosed with Ewing's Sarcoma is the amazing amount of support, both big and small, that is available in our communities. If you have ever doubted the fundamental goodness of most people from all walks of life--conservative and liberal, rural and urban, religious and atheist, white, black, old, young, gay and straight, ... whatever--you needn't look any further than the outpouring of support for embattled children to put your doubts aside. Whether we are talking about large, organized acts of charitable giving or small personal gifts from from friends and neighbors, the plight of gravely ill children has an unparalleled ability to strip aside our differences and relate us to one another as people. Indeed, anyone who has the means but not the motivation to support organizations like CMN, needs to spend some time with even one of these champions--much less fifty one of them! Appropriately, therefore, the journey started with a celebration of the champions ... .

Our Disney-to-D.C. journey began on March 17th with an overnight at the Fairfield Inn in Denver. The next morning when we got down for our ride to the airport, Ari and (her brother) Francis were suprised to find a big, white stretch limo! We shared the ride to DIA with the Colorado Champion, Tess Clark, and her family. (You can check out Tess's story here: http://www.childrensmiraclenetwork.org/ChampionChildDetail.aspx?id=150&state=CO.) The flight in was really kind of fun since we kept bumping into other champion families along the way. And a few short hours later, we were strolling off the bus and into the Coronado Springs Resort in Orlando. Here is a picture of one of the courtyards from our balcony.

We spent the next few days getting to know the other families and the sponsors, not to mention some of the local rodents ... I mean residents. [Picture of Ari w/ Tess and Mickey (right).]

This was also a time for us to get to meet and thank the sponsors for putting in a huge amount of time and resources to make the CMN possible. In fact, we learned that despite the downturn in the economy, the CMN sponsors actually increased the amount of money raised over last year! This meet and greet culminated in a ceremony where every child (all 51 U.S. champions, plus those from Puerto Rico, Australia, Canada and the U.K.) was given a a station for signing the CMN champions books which were distributed to the sponsors. Below are some pics.

After the signing ceremony, we were treated to a story by former Forty-niner quarterback Steve Young and a concert by Julianne Hough. (Sorry, no pictures.)

Finally, on Saturday morning we had an awards ceremony. The keynote speaker was Olympic gold medalist Mary Lou Rhetton. Her speech was really inspirational. Afterwards, each champions was led across the stage and awarded a medal of their own.

In between events, the kids kept it real swimming at the "big pool".

Reminiscing

Unfortunately, we were not able to keep up with the blog while we were away on the Disney-to-D.C. trip with Children's Miracle Network. Nevertheless, we want to put up a few posts in retrospect letting everyone know what an absolutely fantastic time we had and what an incredible group of champions we met!


At the moment, we have just returned to Laramie. We left the J.W. Marriott in Washington, D.C. this morning at 4:30 a.m. EST (that's right folks, 2:30 a.m. mountain time!). Despite our worries that we might be flying into an early spring blizzard, the trip home was thankfully uneventful. We are beat. Ariana and Francis are already in bed and, if I'm not mistaken, Mary is breathing a little more deeply than usual on the couch.

Glad to be back in snowy Wyoming, though!

Ariana's Story

Ariana Ruskey-Moffett
Age 11
The Children’s Hospital
Cancer

Eleven-year-old Ariana Ruskey-Moffett has always been a precocious child with a dynamic personality. A stranger once commented, “It’s hard to imagine she won’t be a movie star.” Not that the glamour of Hollywood would fit the personality of a girl who loves karate, barrel racing and archery, and who regards solving math problems as a special treat.

On New Year’s Day, the limitless possibilities Ariana and her family hoped for unexpectedly came into question. Complaining of lower back pain, Ariana went to The Children’s Hospital for x-rays. They revealed a small amount of hardened tissue, which they hoped was just a minor injury. But the pain soon became excruciating.

After an MRI doctors discovered that the tissue was not an injury but a tumor called Ewing’s Sarcoma, an extremely rare and aggressive form of childhood cancer. Ariana quickly went into surgery, but due to the location of the tumor the only further option was chemotherapy.

Arianna is not a quitter. She pushed through a year of treatment, determined to beat cancer and anything that came with it. And she did. By the time school began in 2007 Ariana’s cancer was a thing of the past.

About Walmart and Sam's Club

Wal-Mart has supported Children’s Miracle Network since 1987. Since then, Children’s Miracle Network and Wal-Mart have worked tirelessly together to help children by raising money for children’s hospitals. Walmart and Sam’s Club associates, customers and members have raised more than $460 million for children’s hospitals during the relationship. This is the first year Walmart and Sam’s Club have sponsored the Champions Across America program.

Champions Across America presented by Walmart and Sam's Club

Champions Across America presented by Walmart and Sam’s Club is a Children's Miracle Network program that brings attention to the important work being done at children’s hospitals by honoring remarkable children who have faced severe medical challenges.

The Champions Across America program designates a Champion child in every state who has bravely battled a serious injury or illness. The Champions represent the nearly 17 million children treated at Children’s Miracle Network hospitals every year. The 2009 Champions have dealt with a wide variety of injuries and illnesses including brittle bone disease, brain tumors and cerebral palsy, as well as surviving car accidents and plane crashes.

As part of Champions Across America, the Champions travel for a week – first to Florida to meet Children’s Miracle Network sponsors, hospital and media partners who all convene to celebrate a year of medical miracles during the Children’s Miracle Network Celebration event at Walt Disney World Resort. The group will then travel to Washington, D.C., where Champions traditionally meet with their state senators on Capitol Hill, and the President of the United States during a visit to The White House.