Letter for Current magazine

Here is the Letter that I sent to the SB&H for their Current magazine and for their website.

This is the 2nd year we have taken part in the Spirit Wheel Walk Run and I am extremely proud of how hard my family, friends and I worked on this year’s event. At the beginning of this year Helen Sklarz asked me if I would like to volunteer my time as well in obtaining some prizes for the SWWR. I couldn’t say no since they have done so much for my family as well as for so many families living with the challenges of Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus. It was challenging at times since I was busy with a newborn and quite frankly I was just not very good at asking for things. By the end of it though, I was a real pro at it and obtained some really cool prizes. My son even donated a prize he won from Breakfast Television, which made me feel really proud. I also have to say it was a life changing experience for me and I have now obtained a new nickname which I cannot mention since this is a family publication : ) If you want to learn more about my experience in helping with this event check out:
http://raymentspinabifida.blogspot.com/

We had an amazing time in this year’s event and raised $2000 for the SB&H. 16 of my friends and family joined in the walk this year and we walked 10km up Hwy 50 in Bolton. We proudly carried the SB&H banner and had tons of people honk at us or even stop to ask questions. It was an incredibly beautiful day and I am so blessed by all the incredible friends and family who took part in the event and those who supported us along the way. Hopefully next year we will raise even more money and help educate even more people about Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus!

The main reason I take part in this yearly event is because my older son Jacob was born with spina bifida. We had only found about his condition when I was 38 weeks pregnant so we were pretty freaked out about the whole thing. My sister-in-law Sheila was a Urology Nurse at Sick Kids so she was able to point us in the right direction for help. One of her resources that she suggested was SB&H. Everyone there has been an amazing help in teaching us about Jake's condition and all the resources that we can access.

The other reason I took part in this event was to educate others about spina bifida and hydrocephalus. Since Jake was born you wouldn't believe the amount of insensitive questions and comments people have made about Jake and his SB. I used to get a little ticked off but now I use these situations to inform people about spina bifida, and hopefully they will pass on what they learned to others.

Jake's spina bifida has made things tough but at the same time it has made us all stronger and we have met so many amazing people. I truly believe in the motto “What doesn’t kill you makes you strong”