And so another month has gone by in a blink of the eye. The weather is turning, the hurricane became a bust, and Abigail became a 1-year-old, who is already addicted to the sweet stuff. Over the past year, if I give myself enough time before or after work, I’ll drive the highway off which the hospital is located where she was born at the end of last September. I remember thinking how nice and upscale it is and not minding staying a few days there (for good things of course), until the third day after Abby was born and all we wanted to do was get her home and enjoy the new life God gave to us. The shininess had worn off by then. I guess it didn’t help that Erin still had to go to school, and I still had to get to work the rest of the week, and of course the animals still needed food and water. Still, the hospital was a heck of a lot nicer than the one in which Erin was born.
It never ceases to amaze me every day that despite still
being a baby just how intelligent children seem to be at this age. That’s one
of the few things I remember about Erin at that point in time. Even before Abby
started crawling, back when she was in the rolling phase, you could see her
look around and set her mind on going somewhere or getting something and heading
off in that direction to reach her goal. You can look in her eyes and know she’s
up to something. I never thought I would say this when I was younger, but it’s
so much fun having a baby in the house … again.
That could be one of the reasons why I’ve gotten involved
in a special project the last couple of years. I’ve always been a Gamer, and
have always enjoyed being able to escape the real world for a time by heading
on an adventure in some dungeon in a Computer Role-Playing Game (CRPG) or
building up a small village castle in a game called Stronghold, as well as a
more modern city in one of the SimCity games. Never did I think that I would be
able to do anything more than that with games (though there were always
thoughts about being able to make a living like all those Professional Gamers
in South Korea), but that changed when I heard about an annual charity event
called Extra Life a couple of years ago when I was playing an on-line game
called Defiance.
The developers of the game are one of several gaming
industry companies that sponsor the Extra Life event every year that helps to
bring in millions of dollars to the Children’s Miracle Network of Hospitals. So
I decided to learn a little bit more about the event and the organization that
runs it, and after watching the video that gave some background on how the
event got started (check it out for yourself with the link below – it’s well
worth the 13 minutes to watch), I felt compelled to join in the cause and do
what I can to help raise money for the event.
Essentially, the event is a 24 hour marathon – not unlike
those annual Jerry Lewis telethons from oh so long ago, where gamers get people
to sponsor them as they play games over the course of 24 hours around the last
weekend in October or the first weekend in November. The details can be found
in the video and on the Extra Life website (www.Extra-Life.org),
so I’ll spare the words giving them here in favor of why I wanted to help
support this event.
As a father, I was brought to tears after watching the
video, and it still affects me profoundly every time I watch it up to this day.
No parent wants their child to be hurt or to feel pain. Yet every day,
thousands of kids across the country spend their days lying in a hospital bed,
suffering from a myriad of serious diseases and other ailments. Many years ago,
I had a co-worker whose young daughter was one of those kids, and I could see
the fear and worry in his eyes every day as he thought about what she had to go
through in order to save her life. I could not imagine having to go through
that with Erin or Abby, and I truthfully don’t know how I would be able to live
every day knowing one of them was hurting and there wasn’t anything I could do
about it. I am fortunate that this is something I only have to think about and
not actually experience, and hope I never have to. However, there are all those
kids, and their families, going through those things every day, and thanks to
Extra Life, I can feel like I am doing something to help ease their suffering,
even if just for a little while.
So starting Friday, November 6th, at 8:00 PM
Eastern Time, I will be participating in my third consecutive Extra Life
marathon. Every penny that I raise from now until the end of 2015 will go to
the CMN hospital that I choose to sponsor, which is the Children’s Hospital of
Philadelphia. It may not be much, but at least I can feel good that I am doing
what I can to help the kids in CHOP and their families get some of the care and
comfort that they need. I hope that everyone who reads this can share it with
their friends and family, and tell them to keep on sharing it as well.
Unfortunately, despite the good that Extra Life does, it seems that news
organizations are more interested in running stories about gamers shooting up groups
of people instead of gamers doing something they love to help children get
healthier.
And now for the shameless begging … This year I am hoping
to reach a modest goal of $300 raised for CHOP, and I am hoping that each and
every person reading this blog, and those they pass it on to, can help me reach
that goal. Even if it’s only a $1 donation, every single penny is welcome and
appreciated. Everyone is also invited to join me during my marathon as I enjoy
one of my favorite hobbies for a great cause. You can watch me via a live
stream on Twitch.tv and join me in the chat room to root me on - or just keep
me awake! I hope to also have some special family guests pop in during the
marathon.
Thank you everyone for reading and I hope I can count on
your support this year!
To make a donation, visit my participant page:
The Extra Life Video:
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