The Tiger Sharks showed off their “fins” before they swam!
I’m having a hard time figuring out how to start this article. I am so filled with emotion and excitement, that it’s hard to even put it into words.
Our 3rd annual Swim for Melissa and Miracle Bash was held August 8-9, and it was an amazing success! We raised more than $145,000 for the Melissa George Neonatal Memorial Fund at Huntsville Hospital Foundation – with money still coming in! We will use the proceeds to purchase two Giraffe OmniBeds and four Giraffe Isolettes for the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Huntsville Hospital for Women & Children. Best of all, this event put us past the half million mark in terms of money raised for Melissa’s Fund. I am absolutely in awe of that.
The greatest part is how this community has embraced it. Close to 600 guests came to the Miracle Bash and enjoyed a wonderful evening of food, live entertainment by dueling pianos, and a fabulous silent auction at The Westin Huntsville. Then, the next day at Swim for Melissa, 30 teams and 220 swimmers hit the water at Hampton Cove Pool. It was just an unforgettable weekend!
Amy and Chris George with their daughters Ann Catherine and Lily, along with their niece Ally and nephew Will at this year’s Swim for Melissa.
When Chris and I started this fund in memory of our daughter three years ago, we were just looking for a way to give back to the nurses and physicians in the NICU. Melissa’s Fund gave us a way to deal with our grief and a way to turn our tragedy into something positive. We never could have dreamed that it would turn into this.
I had a “moment” at this year’s Swim for Melissa. Ann Catherine and I were sitting at the end of the pool, and we were watching some of the kids swim their laps. All of a sudden, it hit me. My daughter was the catalyst for this. I don’t mean that in a self-serving way. I just mean that it hit me that without Melissa, this would never have been possible. Do you know how proud I am of her? That little girl fought so hard to be part of this world, and in the end, she just couldn’t fight anymore. But because of her fighting spirit, other premature babies are having a chance to live. I have tears as I write this, because it’s such an overwhelming feeling.
Even so, Swim for Melissa isn’t just about Melissa. It’s about countless babies who had to leave their mommies and daddies way too soon. It’s about the babies who spent time in our NICU who, because of the grace of God and medical technology, were able to come home to mommies and daddies who needed them. It’s about the volunteers who put hours and hours of work into an event because they believed in it. And it’s about the children who came to the pool, some clinging to a noodle only able to swim one lap, who told us, “I’m swimming to help the babies.”
And most of all, it’s about the babies who are currently in our NICU, and those who will be there in the future, who will have a better chance at life because a community cared enough to give of their time and treasures. I could not be prouder of the way hundreds of people came out to be part of this event.
Bill and Ingrid Lunsford and Aggie and Brian Patz enjoyed the evening at this year’s Miracle Bash.
If you supported this year’s Swim for Melissa in any way, thank you from the bottom of my heart. If you’d like to learn more about the Melissa George Neonatal Memorial Fund, please visit the website.
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