half a hundred

Last weekend, I took Nate camping with a buddy and his daughter. We had a blast, the kids got to run around outside without too many deathtraps, and everyone slept in a tent.

Nate was born 3 weeks early, but there were no complications, and Sara was just about full term anyways, so everything was fine. His buddy, though, Ella, was born several months premature. She spent her first few months in a NICU.

It’s a big testament to medical research that babies can be born months ahead of time, and still have a fighting chance at survival. In the 1800s, this wouldn’t have been so.

Figuring out risk factors, establishing better care facilities, and learning how to best take care of super tiny babies is what March of Dimes is all about.

[Donate], hippie.

When Evie was born, the doctors detected a heart murmur. It was scary, because she was (still is) really tiny, and I figured if anything was seriously wrong, there’d be a small chance for survival. We got lucky, and it’s only a little hole that the pediatric cardiologist predicts will close up on its own in a few years.

Not everyone’s so lucky. Congenital heart defects are the most common birth defect in the US, and more serious defects can require major, successive surgeries. Operating on babies is terrifying, and it’s tragic when one doesn’t make it,

It’s My Heart is working to raise awareness and advocate research in identifying and treating CHDs (side note - in the US, CHDs are responsible for more child fatalities than all children cancers combined). Why not give a little bit?

[Donate Link, scroll down]

[Donate Link]

Sara and I were feeling particularly compelled to donate this month, for some more personal reasons. Anyways, since we wanted to drop a big donation, we decided to pick something particularly appalling: childhood cancer.

Cancer’s always terrifying, but it’s outright depressing when you hear of a kid diagnosed with a brain tumor.

We’re investing for marginally selfish reasons, seeing how we have kids, and we think it’d be fun if they eventually have kids, and wouldn’t like any of them to have to suffer what we’ve seen other parents and kids go through.

So, yeah, if you read this, and you can’t scrounge up $50 to donate to kids with stories like these, then maybe this will convince you.

[Donate Link]

It turns out not eating out for a month is really hard. It wasn’t so much a food-craving issue as it was a convenience issue. When you’re out with two kids and it’s almost lunch time and you have more errands to run, do you go home to eat, or just stop at a nearby restaurant?

About 1/3 through March, we ended up eating at a place called Mighty Fine that serves hamburgers. First off, the hamburgers are supposed to be among the best in Austin. They weren’t. But it *was* convenient, seeing how Home Depot was right next door (I don’t think I can go two weeks without going to Home Depot).

Sara ate out once with her sister at Chick-Fil-A, and a few weekends back we were going to the grocery store and it was near lunch time, and I ate at McDonalds. It was delicious. The McDs was worth it. Mighty Fine’s “gourmet” hamburgers, not so much.

So, at $25 per person per meal out, Sara and I owe $100, and @meezy owes $50. I’m not sure how we’re picking the charity since we’re splitting, but I’ll post an update when we figure that out.

[Donate Link]

I found Lance on Twitter a few weeks ago, and he’s been a lot of fun to follow. From reading his tweets I found myself at the Lance Armstrong Foundation site, and then was signing up to walk (yeah, I hate running) and bike ride in the Austin events in September, and also wanting to donate to the LAF.

The LAF helps by making sizable donations to cancer research and by providing cancer patients with information about treatments, support, and easier access to screening and care.

Looking around the site, there’s crazy statistics, among the most glaring ones were that 12 million people a year get cancer, and of those, 8 million die. I’m not sure if those are recurrences, or just estimates from developing countries, but still, terrifying.

Anyways, donate today, get one of those cool yellow bracelets, and go sign up for a run/walk/whatever. It’s good for you.

[Donate Link]

Over the last 5 months or so, Sara and I have been working to lose weight. I’ve lost about 20lbs so far. I figure I’m aiming to shed another 10 before just trying to maintain myself.

One of the ways I’ve significantly reduced calorie intake has been eating in, or, more specifically, not eating out. As much.

Last night I challenged Sara to see if we could go all through March not eating out. In light of Obama’s speech, I want to say that I’m not doing this to hurt the economy, but just to see if I can do it. Don’t worry, I’ll spend plenty elsewhere.

Bringing that up on Twitter, @vanweezy said she’d be impressed if we did it, which got my competitive streak going, so I suggested a wager. @meezy chimed in, and I agreed, so the terms go like this:

• @meezy puts up $150, and we start at $0
• For every time either Sara or I eat out, it adds $25 to our balance
• At the end of the month, whoever’s balance is higher (@meezy’s $150 or our value to-be-determined-by-our-eating-habits) pays that amount to a charity of the other person’s choosing
• Challenge lasts from 1Mar2009-31Mar2009

For those of you who choose to give to other charities, or who have given anyways, or just want to do more, it turns out it’s really easy to give blood.

Sara and I did it over the weekend (on Valentine’s Day, actually), and it takes about 15 minutes from the time you walk in the door to walking out. It doesn’t hurt, it’s a great cause, and if you’re looking to lose weight, it’s the same as burning 650 calories!

I’ll post here every time we go donate, which will hopefully serve as a reminder to those of you who want to keep up.

[Donation Link]

This one’s a little more selfish than some of the previous releases, but it’s because I got to experience the hospital a few weekends ago.

Our daughter stayed overnight at Dell Children’s because she was having trouble breathing, and everything from the facilities to the nurses to the doctors were fantastic and calming. It’s nice to be in the presence of competent people.

I noticed that lots of their rooms and equipment were made possible by donations, so figured the best way to say “thanks” is to send some money their way.

The donation link is a little tricky to find, so I’ve made it easy. Go here, pick Dell Children’s Hospital, and go from there. It’ll make you feel better if you have to rely on them in the future!

[Donation Link]

If anyone has a charity that’s close to them, feel free to send in a little writeup about it. It makes my life easier, and I’m glad to direct what help I can wherever. So, that said, here’s a writeup from Sara (my wife!):

You’ve probably never heard of Spastic Paraplegia, but it’s impacted my family greatly.  My grandpa, who passed away in May, had it for 40 years or so and I watched him slowly physically decline.  He walked with a cane and then used a walker in his last few years.  He fell constantly and had broken hips and ribs.  SP is hereditary and often doesn’t show up until adulthood.  My Aunt also suffers from it and it’s very possible that my sister, I, or one of our kids will have it.

Research for SP and related diseases is terribly expensive and slow, mostly because drug companies don’t invest in it due to the rarity of the diseases and subsequent low profit possibilities.  The average cost for testing one medicine for 6 months is approximately $40,000.  The Spastic Paraplegia Foundation largely depends on donations to fund their research.  SP may be a rare disease, but those who suffer from it deserve a cure.

We would greatly appreciate your donation to SPF in hopes that it may lead to finding a cure and improving the quality of life for those who suffer from it.

[Donate!]

[Donation Link]

So I got this post out embarrasingly late, but, in fairness, we did have a baby at the very end of November.

Even though it’s too late to donate for their Christmas Angel Tree campaign, they do the kinds of things that the rest of us wish we could organize, and could surely use a boost in funds to start the year.

For their Christmas Angel Tree campaign, Sara went to Wal-Mart and bought 3 outfits and a ton of toys for a 3 year old named David. We felt like we were doing something pretty helpful, since it would be the kid’s Christmas, so Sara splurged a little bit.

But then one of my coworkers went and volunteered to actually help distribute the presents, and it sounded a lot less pleasant. Everybody wants to buy gifts for the 3 year old little girls, and nobody wants to buy gifts for, say, 9-11 year old boys. A few times they’d only get a pair of pants. I can’t think of a Christmas where I received anything close to that little, and with the economy going the way it is, those who can’t give gifts for Christmas are only going to be worse off in 2009.

Donating helps the Salvation Army get adults back into situations where they can provide their kids Christmases on their own, and also helps for natural disaster aid. It’s a win-win, really.

So, if you’re in an especially giving mood, go give $50 or $100 ro the Salvation Army.

In fact, if you read this and were going to give me a Christmas present, don’t. Donate to these guys instead. I’d much rather several 9 year olds get footballs.