As most of you know, I am running the half marathon in Washington DC, March 26th, 2011. As I started training, I was thinking of some way that I could personalize my run, and raise money for someone in need. Immediately I wanted to run for Liam! I have known the Thompsons for quite a few years now, and have a great love for this family. One of my mottos I try to live by is, "Live to Give." I believe that if we strive to live our lives by helping others, we will always be happy and have the things we need in return.
I am asking for individuals to sponsor me and my run, so I can raise money to help pay for Liam's surgeries. 100% of the money raised by my half marathon will go to Liam's care! Every little bit helps!! Even $1 will make a difference. Please find it in your hearts to help free this family from such a financial burden, they have had to take on to keep their loving son happy and healthy. The "Donate" button is on the top, right side of the blog page.
Here is a brief description of Liam's journey written by his father Robb Thompson.
Liam Thompson was born in May of 2004 with a vascular condition known as lymphatic malformation (LM) in his right cheek, lips and mouth. Liam’s LM is micro-cystic in nature, which makes it very difficult to treat in any way other than surgically. A detailed description of these vascular anomalies can be found at www.birthmark.org. In short, when Liam would get a cold, ear infection or cut a new tooth, his cheek would swell to the size of a grape fruit or softball. Over the course of his first 16 months of life, Liam’s tumor grew ten times in size and began to compromise his facial nerve and ability to eat. We searched for a local physician who could help us.
Needless to say there has been a tremendous emotional and financial price to this experience for our family, and especially Liam, who is currently in Kindergarten. To date, there has been tens of thousands of dollars worth of out of pocket expenses to cover Liam’s care. These expenses include surgical and hospital fees, un-reimbursed travel expenses and lost wages due to multiple medical leaves from work for his care.
As a family, we have worked very hard to cover most of these expenses, although there is still a substantial balance owed the surgeon (Dr. Waner) for fees not covered by the insurance company, in addition to Liam’s need for on-going care and potential future surgeries.