Hi all,
If you're reading this, you likely know I've worked at Chilldren's Hospital Colorado for over 13 years now. The burn out is real, but so is my belief in Children's Colorado's mission of taking care of the children in Colorado and most of the surrounding states, too. This summer's ride will be my 9th Courage Classic!
There are many reasons I do what I do and why I love Children's and Courage Classic, but I'll share one of my favorite recent stories here. When I rode in the Courage Classic 10 years ago, I captained a team named The Stinkbugs, after a non-profit who pairs prison-trained dogs with families with a kid navigating a complicated medical diagnosis. During the ride, a grandfather approached us to ask if we were indeed named after that organization, because if so, his granddaughter, who was also riding the Courage Classic on the back of her parents' tandem bike, had a Stinkbug dog! In fact, her Stinkbug dog was even up in Copper Mountain for the ride. Needless to say, we got to meet this whole wonderful family and their adorable yellow Stinkbug lab.
A year or two later, I had the pleasure of getting to see this patient in my clinic. Her parents put two-and-two together for me, that we had all met before at the Courage Classic- and that they had looked me up online and realized they had a picture of me at home?! Of course, I have that picture too. It was such a heart-warming full circle type experience, made especially wonderful by an opportunity to then get to know this patient, who happens to be a stellar human. I recently got a message from her about her HS graduation party (she's off to college on a full ride scholarship to study biology & ecology!), and my heart swelled.
I'm riding again this year with the Psyched to Climb team. The money raised by our team will go to the Pediatric Mental Health Institute to support all of the crucial work they do in the mental health field. I'm convinced that every child (and parent) can benefit from mental health support. Mental health resources were already limited for children and are even more limited as of late in schools and in our communities.
Please consider donating to me/our Psyched To Climb Team/Children's Hospital Colorado via my link. Thanks so much! Becca
