Another plug for STARS

Dear friends and family!

I am writing to you this morning to tell you that The Designer, Lil Bug, Lil Princess and I (along with some wonderful friends and family) are joining together to form Team Gracie at the 2nd annual STARS (Seeking Techniques Advancing Research in Shunts) walk-a-thon. The walk is on Saturday, Oct. 25th at 10am and it walks along the Grand Haven boardwalk (keep your fingers crossed that it isn't freezing cold and blowy like it was last year!).

As you probably know, Lil Bug received a shunt when she was just 2 days old. The shunt serves the purpose of regulating the fluid that surrounds her brain. Without the shunt, she would have likely died. Even though the shunt has served its purpose, we have already had to have one surgery to "fix" it as it was not working properly. When Lil Bug has a revision, it is not something to be taken lightly. It is full on brain surgery complete with a partially shaved head. No fun for anyone involved!!! Sadly shunt failure is VERY common. About 75% of all shunts fail and once you have one revision, the statistics go up from there.

There is currently no public funding for research and development of shunts. As a result, the STARS organization was born. The organization looks for private donations to support research so that Grace and others like her may have less (or better yet NO) revisions in their lifetime.

So, the reason for this post is two-fold.

First, if you live in or near the Grand Haven, MI area, we would love to have you join our team for the walk on Oct. 25th. There is a $25 registration fee that can be paid on the morning of the walk. You can raise additional funds for our team as well. Please let me know if you intend to join our team so I have accurate numbers!

Second, I am asking you to please consider donating to our team. I've made it easy to do by simply clicking on the link on the top right side of this blog.

PLEASE LINK TO THIS BLOG POST WHENEVER POSSIBLE.

You can view more information about the WALK by linking here.

You can print out a registration and pledge form (if you plan to walk) by linking here.

You can donate right now by visiting this link or by clicking the DONATE button located at the top right hand side of this page.
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Thank you!
-The Professor

P.S. I am still donating 100% of the proceeds from my Etsy shop from not until Oct. 25th.