Gail Hamilton
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For A Children's Cancer Fund

Dear Donor,

I am a military man, so many of my heroes are military.  But my biggest hero is my son, Tyler.  He is seven years old and he has cancer.

Cancer is a word that strikes terror into the bravest heart – and something we sure didn’t expect. The first thing a parent like me reaches for is hope. I want to tell you about  Tyler to show you that my hope comes from people like you.

My wife and I were used to a boisterous, healthy son. But Tyler began to grow tired and mentally confused. The diagnosis of Hodgkin’s lymphoma in August flipped our secure little world upside down.

Fortunately, we have access to one of the top four children’s hospitals in the country. The Division of Child and Adolescent Oncology, based there, makes sure that Tyler gets the very best care on the planet.

I can’t say enough about the terrific doctors, nurses and staff there. They calmed our fears and showed us that cancer can be fought – and very often beaten – even in the youngest, most vulnerable patients. The whole Division is dedicated to providing the very latest in treatments to our children and doing research to not only find a cure, but, one day, to prevent cancer altogether.

And so much of this wonderful work is made possible by this Cancer Fund which I sincerely hope you will support.

You see, having a sick child opened my eyes to what is happening out there.

At the hospital, I saw children, even tiny babies, with all kinds of cancer – leukemia, brain and liver cancer, bone cancer, Hodgkin’s disease and other types I never knew about before. All of them, just like Tyler, are depending on the knowledge and compassion of the people at the hospital to help them get through a very scary time.

I have so much faith in the people at the  Division that I deferred my posting in order to stay near the hospital that we trust so much. I’m very happy to tell you that Tyler is in chemo now and when he’s done, in about four months, he’ll have radiation. Already the lumps in his lymph system are dissolving and the tiredness and confusion show up less and less. He has a very bright outlook for success.

In fact, you might be surprised at the success rates now possible – 75%, 80%, 90% even 100% for many childhood cancers.

But if 80% survive, it still means 20% don’t make it, and that’s a heartbreaker.

That’s why I’m asking you to make a donation to the Cancer Fund. Today’s successes are there because a lot of people have worked hard together over a lot of years to achieve them. It’s up to us to do the same thing for today’s kids and for kids in the future.

Cancer has brought my family a lot closer together and made my kids mature beyond their years. We do our best to give them a positive attitude even though it’s hard to explain to the younger ones why Tyler has to go to the hospital so much. Tyler, young as he is, just wants to kick this disease and get on with the fun of living.

I know my family has learned the true value of life because anything can happen. The caring people and excellent treatment Tyler receives gives us our hope that Tyler can beat Hodgkin’s and be one of the many happy stories at the hospital.

But the only way all the families like mine are going to have a happy story is for you to keep on supporting the treatment programs that help so many little heroes and the cancer research that finds even better treatments and, one day, the cure.

The  Fund is a beautiful thing. It’s always needed and it benefits a lot of very brave kids. So make them your heroes, too. Give what you can today.

Yours sincerely,

 

P.S. It’s really worth the money to see the smile on the face of a child when the Cancer Fund can do something good. Your money is going to a great cause. The doctors are able to do the work they are doing because of help from people like you.

 

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 For A Hospital Foundation

 

"My Dad’s the kind of man who just wouldn’t bother the busy nurses to adjust his bed – even after he just had cardiac surgery".

Dear Donor,

When someone you love lies ill in the hospital, you don’t want a single moment of unnecessary pain or discomfort. At our hospital, neither do we. Please help us replace 550 old-fashioned hand-cranked beds with new electric ones.

That’s a tall order, but the new beds are so critical to patient well-being and pain relief, that I’m asking you to make a donation part of your holiday giving.

Patients often urgently need to change position when soreness from recent surgery, breathing difficulty or stabbing joint pain asserts itself. With an electric bed, that patient can make the adjustment at once, merely by touching the bed’s control panel. Yet those still in manual beds must climb out of bed to turn the stiff crank themselves or wait in discomfort until a busy nurse can do the work.

You only have to ask the family member, who recently saw her father through a major health crisis  the difference an electric bed would have made.

"Not being big users of the health system, we didn’t realize how much better an electric bed would have been. It would have given us peace of mind to know Dad could get more comfortable without getting up. After cardiac surgery, the last thing he should be doing is climbing out to crank up his bed."

You can imagine the risk of falls or harming new incisions, prolonging the hospital stay. The frail elderly, those with cognitive disorders and the very ill especially need the ease and safety of electric beds. Won’t you please maintain our  superb standards of care  by helping us reach our replacement goal?

Patients in our community rely on your generosity to ensure that the latest technology is available. I want to thank you for caring response to our last appeal. Your donation allowed us to replace obsolete critical care ventilators with state-of-the-art equipment now supplying precious oxygen to those who cannot breathe on their own.

Now, when you help provide electric beds, you give patients vastly increased mattress comfort along with greater freedom of movement and safer access due to the four sets of side rails. In case of emergency, when seconds count, controls swiftly adjust the bed so treatment can begin.

Front line staff like know how difficult and uncomfortable even the smallest movement can be for the sick and injured.

"An electric bed would allow the nurse to adjust the patient’s position without rolling them over or physically repositioning. And transferring patients from bed to stretcher can be an ordeal. Electric beds allow adjustments to be made quickly and with less patient discomfort."

With each new electric bed at a cost of $6000, and 550 beds to replace, you can see why your donation today is so very important. By choosing to give monthly, you can provide for orderly bed replacement throughout the year.

Many of you, moved by patients, may open your heart to pledge the entire cost of a bed. You can spread your donation over two years and a plaque with your name, in grateful recognition, will be affixed to the bed for all to see. Usable manual beds will go to developing countries where they are sorely required.

The dignity and independence will also be a gift you give yourself should you or yours ever need a hospital stay. At this festive time, please extend your compassion to patients who need your help to ease their recovery and give as generously as you can.

Wishing you the best,

 

P.S. Our hospitals urgently need to replace outdated hand-cranked beds with modern electric beds so that every patient can have the comfort, independence and safety they deserve. Your support now makes all the difference. Please send your donation today.