There’s a saying that out of the mouths of babes comes wisdom. It is something I learn every year. The Miracle Marathon not only is a time when we as adults should take the time to help a very important facility. It also is the time that we should take to listen to what the youth of today is telling us. Sometimes we can learn very important life lessons from the young.

I know that as adults, we feel we are the ones who should lead. But as adults, we also should be able to recognize brilliance in people of any age. I have learned many things from the young people we have interviewed during the Miracle Marathon. The children who are battling for their lives very often have important lessons for us all.

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“You’re lucky you got him here when you did. If you had waited any longer, he could have died.”

I remember Dr. Cohen saying that as if it were yesterday. I can see where we were standing. I can see what I was wearing. I can see my wife crying. And then I remember very vividly his next sentence, “It’s ok. He’s going to be just fine.” Patrick had ruptured his appendix and if it weren’t for Dr. Cohen, the toxins released could have killed him within a few hours.

It happened between the first and second year of the Dave and Carole Miracle Marathon. I remember the first year of the marathon vividly, for a very embarrassing reason. On the morning of the first day of the telethon, I showed up late because I had driven downtown to the old location around 20th and Wisconsin. The hospital hadn’t been at that location for almost 10 years. Here I was, a guy with a 4-year old son who was about to go on the air for three days to raise money for the hospital, and I didn’t even know where it was located.

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Everyone at the hospital knows me as a huge and vocal sports fan. So when the Milwaukee Bucks qualified for the playoffs this year, I had to do something to celebrate with the patients I see in the MACC Fund Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders every day.

Check out my video to see what I did. I did this to give our patients a chance to laugh, have fun and be part of the excitement that comes with having our home team in the playoffs. I did it to raise awareness about the upcoming Miracle Marathon, which impacts the resources I have available as our team at Children’s Hospital provides care for these wonderful children.

What would you do? Would you:

• Listen to 96.5 WKLH May 26-28?
• Pledge your donation at chw.org/miraclemarathon?
• Text 4CHW to 85944 for a small donation?
• Spread the word to your family and friends?

Learn more at chw.org/miraclemarathon.

-David Margolis, MD, program director, Blood and Marrow Transplant.