Help Nicole raise money

True statement...I have not run 7 miles in well over a year.

Also a true statement...I currently can't run more than two miles without stopping.  

So...Why am I doing this?

19 years ago, I learned first-hand the amazing programs RMHCNE provides to families of critically ill children.  The photo above is of me holding my daughter Codi, days after she was released from the the hospital. ..still wired up to a heart and respiratory monitor.  Codi spent 2.5 weeks in and out of the NICU at Women & Infants Hospital and remained on the monitors 24/7 until she was 4.5 months old. Yep, Derrin & I took turns carrying that backpack for 4.5 months!

For almost 2 week after giving birth, the only rest I received was cat napping in waiting room chairs at Women & Infants Hospital so I could remain close to my baby.  Healing and selfcare certainly took the back burner as my focus was on my newborn. We lived 45 minutes round trip from the hospital and that was too far knowing that at any moment, Codi could stop breathing...again.

Little did I know there was a gem across the street....RMH Providence.

After a social worker encouraged us to take a tour of the House, we were blown away.  We heard about the Ronald McDonald House but had many misconceptions of what it actually was.  At that time, there was a waiting list but a few days later, a room opened up.  For the first time in what seemed like an eternity, we were able to a have a sense of normalcy...by being all together, as a family,  just steps from Codi.

RMH Providence was probably most impactful for the little girl to my left in this photo.  My daughter Caysea, then 2.5 years old, could not understand why mommy and her new baby sister were not coming home....we were supposed to come right home but things clearly didn't go as planned.

Thanks to RMH Providence, my family was given  peace in the midst of chaos.  My favorite and most vivid memory of staying at RMH Providence with Derrin and Caysea was the first night we checked in.  The three of us went to the kitchen and had an "ice cream party" as we used to call it. I will be forever thankful for what the House gave my family during that time.  Little did I know that those days back in 2004 would be so impactful and such a significant part of my family's life. 

So....why am I running Falmouth?   I am running to help provide more "ice cream party" moments to families like mine. 

Have I bitten off more than I can chew?  Heck NO!  I got this...with YOUR help. 

Thank you for reading my story and your consideration in supporting my efforts.

Nicole Anderson
Chief Advancement Officer
RMHC New England