Hello all! I’m proud and excited to begin fundraising for my sixth year of participating in St. Baldrick’s. The event this year is truly meaningful and important to me - I’ll be shaving my head in memory of a precious baby girl, Clare Noelle O’Connor. Clare was born on December 13th, 2012 to a dear friend of mine, Natalie, and her husband, Joel. She was born with a heart defect and needed to have heart surgery just days after she was born. While the surgery went well, other complications arose. She didn’t have any muscle tone and couldn’t move on her own. They tried taking her off the ventilator she was on and she stopped breathing, thus needing to remain on the ventilator. Over the next several weeks, they ran additional tests in hopes of determining the cause of these complications. After weeks of the unknown, Natalie and Joel were finally given the devastating news that Clare had a severe and fatal condition called Spinal Muscular Atrophy type 1. Natalie and Joel were told that Clare had a life expectancy of less than two years and only if she received invasive and round-the-clock care. Clare was unable to move or breathe on her own. Along with the heart defect, which was apparently not related to the SMA, she developed a lung infection. All of this was too much for her little body to endure. On January 4, 2013, at just 22 days old, Clare succumbed to it all and earned her angel wings. Clare is survived by her parents and her almost 18 month old sister, Liberty. With the help of organizations like St. Baldrick’s, it is my sincerest hope to never attend a memorial service for a baby ever again. An army of St. Baldrick’s volunteers have made it possible to award $103 million in grants since 2005 – more than $25 million in 2012 alone. And when you give to the St. Baldrick’s Foundation, you don't just give to one institution – your money impacts children who are being treated at more than 215 children’s’ hospitals throughout the United States. Please help support me for my sixth year of shaving my head in solidarity with children who have cancer and typically lose their hair during treatment, while raising critical funds for childhood cancer research! Support can come in the way of a financial donation or joining me at Fado Irish Pub in Denver on March 15, 2013. The event will begin at 10am and go until approximately 6pm. Thank you in advance for all of your ongoing support. I couldn’t do this without your help! Hope dies last! Be well, Meghann