Hi Friends,

This year, Andrea and I decided to participate in the annual CHOC Walk at Disneyland. We love to walk, we love Disneyland, and CHOC (Children's Hospital of Orange County) holds a special place in our hearts because I quite literally would not be here today without them.

Very few of you know this about me unless you've asked about the scar on my neck, but when I was 16 months old I was fighting off a bad case of pneumonia when my parents noticed me wheezing and seemingly unable to breath. They rushed me to CHOC, where X-rays showed that my left lung had completely collapsed. The doctors identified the main problem being a narrow trachea that was not allowing enough air in, so I immediately underwent an emergency tracheostomy.

The surgery was a success, and I had a tube ("trach") in my throat for several weeks. The doctors all commended my parents for making the quick decision to rush me to the hospital, and they estimated that I had maybe an hour of life left had I not had the emergency surgery.

Forty three years later, I'm alive and well with no lung problems and nothing but an interesting scar on my throat to show for it. I was so young but somehow I still remember feeling so cared for by the doctors and staff at CHOC, and I'm forever grateful that I received the care that I did.

My hope is that every child and parent that enters that building in Orange is able to receive the same level of care that I received, and ideally the same outcome. That work requires funding, so I'm asking you to contribute to this campaign to give children in Orange County the same fighting chance I was blessed with.

I hope you'll consider making a small contribution, and please know that no amount is too small and every dollar raised will be put to good use.