Thanks for your support!

Thanks to the support of thousands of North Carolinians the 2006 N.C. Children's Promise raised more than $630,000 to support the N.C. Children's Hospital! Your contributions have an amazing effect on the children who come to the Children's Hospital for care. Visit www.ncchildrenspromise.org to view updates and recaps from this year's event.

Curtis Media Group, its stations and employees cannot be thanked enough for their work Nov. 16 to promote the wonderful care provided at the Children's Hospital. Similarly, News 14 Carolina and Time Warner Cable provided tremendous coverage of the event, for which we are grateful. Thanks also to the volunteers and staff members at UNC Hospitals who help make the Children's Promise such a successful event each year. We couldn't do this without you!

Josh's Miracle

Josh's story began on May 29, 2004. It began as every other Saturday but little did we know how it would end. Josh was with his father at a family friend's farm spending a beautiful day outside. Josh was riding on a tractor, hit a bump and was bounced off the tractor. The tractor was pulling a bush hog which ran over Josh nearly amputating his left leg. He was transported to Wake Med where he underwent surgery. Several hours later the surgeons came to us stating Josh needed specialized treatment and would be flown by helicoptor to UNC. We were able to see Josh for a very short period while he was being transported to the tele-pad. They had prepared us for what he would look like but the child they rolled out did not even look like my son. He was life flighted to UNC. We rushed to get to him. Josh was in PICU where he stayed for several days on a ventilator undergoing surgery after surgery to save his leg. We spent the next few months in and out of UNC for terrible infections. Even months later the surgeons were not certain his leg could be saved. In late August of 2004 Josh began the first grade with an external fixator, wound vac and PIC line for medications that were administered by IV several times a day. He just five weeks ago had his 14th surgery to repair tendons in his foot. The staff and doctors at UNC are the best ever. They went beyond the call of duty to ensure Josh and our family were comfortable and made to feel at home even though we were not home for weeks at the time. We will be forever grateful to the staff at UNC for saving our Josh and saving his leg. For someone who they thought might never walk and considering the fact he just a few months ago played baseball speaks volumes for what can be accomplished at UNC. We are fortunate to have such an awesome facility in North Carolina. My husband and I never thought anything like this could happen to our family but what a comfort it was to have the team at UNC on our side when it did. We will be forever grateful.

Arden's Way

It is Arden's way to give people hope.
She is my five year old daughter who has an extensive relationship with the NC Children's Hospital.
In her first few years of life, because of birth anomalies, Arden fought hard just to breathe. With one lung, her trachea reconstructed, and a part of her airway floppy, she was very fragile.
She had two cardiac arrests, 7 episodes where she had to be revived, had to have a trach and a feeding tube (g-tube). She was in the ICU for 6 months and on a ventilator for 6 weeks.
Today, she is in kindergarten, in dance and will be starting soccer in the Spring.
This hospital has helped Arden survive and thrive. Please help support the NC Children's Hospital and help make a difference in the lives of the children in our community.
-Arden's Mom Laurie

B. Everett Jordan Supports N.C. Children's Promise

The B. Everett Jordan school community, in Graham, had a loose change drive to raise money for this great cause. The students, staff, and community members all donated their spare change and raised $1, 010.01 in the last three weeks! A student at BEJ suffers from Cystic Fibrosis and his classmates attended today and presented the check. The school has committed to fundraising and sharing information about CF for the entire school year. The school is proud to support CF and we feel especially strong about our connection and committment to our special boy and his family.

Our Miracles

My name is Judy Ward. I am here with my husband Pat and our daughters Abigail and Rachel . Our girls were born at 26 week in April 2000. We spent 3 months in the NICU here at UNC. Our story is like so many others. Tiny babies fighting for their lives, parents scared beyond their wildest dreams and yet there is hope. Hope given to us by the amazing medical team here at UNC. UNC took care of our babies in addition to taking care of us. We are eternally grateful for giving us the family we always dreamed of.

Thank you so much to the Newborn Critical Care Center

My name is Leslie Nelson and I am here with my husband Mark today to help support the NC Children's Hospital. My son, Carter, was born 3 months prematurely on August 3, 2006. After an uneventful pregnancy, we were absolutely shocked that something could be wrong so early. Carter came into this world weighing just 3 lbs. He spent 6 weeks in the Newborn Critical Care Center and we will be forever grateful for the great care that he received. Carter's entire team was fantastic. All of his physicians and nurses went above and beyond providing the greatest care to him.

Please help if you can!!

Recreational Therapy

My name is Ginna Barber and I am a Recreational Therapist at the N.C. Children's Hospital. I have been working here for over 7 years. During my time here, I have had the opportunity to meet so many wonderful patients and families. The children are truly a blessing. Each day, I look forward to coming to work because the kids touch my life in so many ways. What an amazing experience to see the strength and spirit that they display even during difficult times! I am not always the one who is teaching them-- they are the ones who teach me!

Promises of Hope

I am Steve McPhail and my duaghter Grace was diagnosed with Crohn's Disease when she was 10-years old. The diagnosis was made here, at the North Carolina Children's Hospital by Dr. Sandy Kim, a pediatric gastroenterologist. Shortly after the diagnosis, Grace was hospitalized for a Crohn's related complication. I thank God for this institution. It is so much more than a building, rather it is a unique environment where the care of children (and their parents) is as important as the treatment of disease. Children from all 100 counties in the state are treated here. Over 85% of these children are referred from other hospitals for diagnosis and treatment of complex disorders. NC Children's Hospital is the only true children's hospital in the state with staff in all pediatric subspecialties. Patients are treated here regardless of their ability to pay for services rendered. The state of NC covers only 8% of the operating costs of the hospital and therefore, we need your help. Please donate what you can to ensure that the hospital can meet its mission of providing family focused child centric care to each patient, contribute to new knowledge about children's diseases through cutting edge research and educate future health care providers for children. You can make a difference in the lives of the children of NC and there is nothing more important than that. Hopefully, your family will never need this hospital, but if you, your friends or anyone else ever does, you will feel as blessed as I do that this wonderful institution is here. Please do what you can to support it.

My Miracle

I will never forget being admitted into Labor and Delivery and being told, "You will be here until your baby is born." My son, Jack, was born 3 months early, weighing 1lb. 13oz. His skin was translucent and his little eyes were fused tightly together. I remember him being so small that the nurses had simply placed a cotton ball over him, instead of a diaper. Two weeks passed before I was able to hold him for the first time. Jack would stay in the Newborn Critical Care Center (NCCC) for 83 days and his father and I would make the trip from our home to the hospital each day for those nearly three months. During the course of his stay, the NCCC became a second home to us. If we were not at home sleeping or at work, we were with Jack. The hospital staff became our family...not only did we depend on them for our son's physical well-being, but we relied on them for emotional care and support, which they gave freely. Now, 2 years later, I have a beautiful, intelligent, healthy son. He is my miracle. But there is no doubt in my mind that my sweet, sweet boy would not be here today if not for the care he received at UNC Children's Hospital. I cannot thank them enough.

Our Children, Our Future

I just want to take the opportunity to thank everyone for their participation in the NC Childrens Promise. It takes a great deal of resources to support the needs of our patients and their families, our goal of Family Centered Care is supported by your generous donations. Everyone expects to have the "Gerber Baby" and no one really plans to end up in the NICU. Each year we care for over 800 families from across North Carolina, helping moms & dads and their new "Tar Heel". I have been a nurse (and now the manager) in the Newborn Critical Care Center for 25 years have seen tremendous changes in the care of sick and premature babies. I work with at tremendous group of people...nurses, doctors, nurse practitioners, respirtory therapists, dieticians, pharmacists, lactation consultants, Social Workers, OTs, PTs, Speech professionals, and many others. Through the work of many, our children can have a great future. Supporting the NC Children's Promise is about our keds, they are our future...


Mauri Williams RN
Nurse manager
Newborn Critical Care Center

We're live again!

We are off to another great day with the Children's Promise. This is the day that we focus on bringing stories to you of what goes on everyday in the N.C. Children's Hospital, caring for children and familes who have serious medical problems. This is the State's Children's Hospital, a place child who needs our help can come.

We do serious work caring for children who have serious or chronic diseases, many of them needing critical care because of their life-threatening problems. Your help is needed to keep us at the cutting edge. A child's needs are not on a budget cycle and the gifts you give allow us to meet the needs of each child as they come up, not delay care or have to send them somewhere else for care.

Every year children from every county in North Carolina come here for care, this year more than 80,000 outpatients and about 9500 inpatients. We do all of this in an atmosphere that is family centered and child friendly. Thanks for your support today as we celebrate the N.C. Children's Promise!

Alan Stiles, MD
Physician-in-Chief
North Carolina Children's Hospital

Keeping our promises for the 5th year!

Join the celebration! The fifth annual N.C. Children's Promise Celebration is Nov. 16, live in the lobby of the N.C Children's Hospital. Listen on Curtis Media Group radio stations or watch on News 14 Carolina.

The 2006 N.C. Children's Promise Celebration will be broadcast from 5 a.m. until 11:30 p.m. on News 14 Carolina and the following Curtis Media Group radio stations:

94.7 WQDR

96 Rock

Y-102.9

La Ley 96.9

680 WPTF

FM Talk 101.1

Country 102.3

620 WDNC

570 WDNZ

730 WFMC

920 WPCM

1150 WGBR

1550 WCLY

Triangle Traffic Network

State Government Radio

For more information on the 2006 N.C. Children's Promise Celebration, or to make a donation, please click here. Thanks for your support of the N.C. Children's Promise!