Dear Cookie Monsters-
The 22nd annual Stroll for Strong Kids Walk and 5K Run will be held virtually on May 30th. Our family is incredibly sad we will not be able to all join together this year in what is one of our favorite days of the year. This will mark the 8th year Craig's Cookie Monsters will be participating. We are hoping our Cookie Monsters will still join us virtually that day to run or walk in support of our children's hospital. We understand that these are stressful times and not everyone is in a position to make a donation this year and we appreciate any support families can give whether that be a donation or just wearing your shirts and sharing pictures in support.
This will be our 8th year participating in the Stroll for Strong as Craig's Cookie Monsters to benefit Golisano Children's Hospital. We have been blessed the last 7 years to be surrounded by our incredible family and friends who have helped us raise close to an astonishing $70,000 for the hospital! We are very much looking forward to participating again June 1st to help raise awareness of how important it is to have a children’s hospital of this caliber locally right in our own backyard!
Golisano Children's Hospital is very much like a 2nd home to our family as 2 of our 3 children have needed the life saving care of the hospital. In 2012 our 2 year old son Craig was diagnosed with a rare form of brain and spinal cord cancer, a disseminated low grade glioma. He has received more than 150 rounds of chemotherapy over the past 7 1/2 years and sees 10 specialists at the hospital who all provide critical care. He is currently in a clinical trial at Dana Farber in Boston however and we are still frequent visitors of the hospital as Craig sees several specialists due to the effects of his cancer and treatment. Craig loves coming to the hospital. We attribute much of that to the fact that Golisano is a true Children's Hospital that specializes in treating kids. We also faced a tough road in 2014 when our daughter Lauren was born at 34 weeks weighing 2 lb. 9oz. and was in the NICU for 5 weeks. We were terrified that we were going to lose her after a high risk pregnancy forced an emergency c-section. The care she received helped her grow in a closely monitored setting was such a blessing and she was able to come home at 4 lbs. I tell everyone you will never appreciate anything more as a parent than the Children’s Hospital should you ever need it. The care of the doctors, incredible nurses, friendly technicians and receptionists make the hospital so welcoming. We truly feel like they are our second family.
The Stroll means so much to our family and visibly seeing the support for Craig and the other families and children who have been impacted by the hospital fills our hearts with so much gratitude. This year we would really apprecaite if our team could share pictures with Craig to show him we are all still supporting the hospital from whereever we are! We are going to continue to rely on the hospital and are so appreciative of each and every day they have given us with Craig. This event is a beautiful way to show how much the hospital means to our family and the donations our team raises truly make a difference. We hope you will join our team or another if you are able to. Thank you to those who cannot make the Stroll but would like to sponsor someone on our team. Each donation matters no matter how much! If anyone has any questions on how to sign up or needs help please feel free to contact me at Kim. winter@hotmail.com and I’ll be happy to help.
For more information or to follow Craig's journey you may log in to our CaringBridge page by searching for Craig Winter at CaringBridge.org
