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Mid-West Family’s 24-hour Radiothon helping kids and their families at Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals

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(from left to right) Luther Hoff, Andrew Bell and Charlie Kinneberg are three of the local heroes who you'll be hearing from Thursday and Friday as part of the Children's Miracle Network radiothon from Mid-West Family and Gundersen.

Over the next two days, Mid-West Family and Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals are once again teaming up to rally community support for another 24-hour radiothon. 

The goal is to raise funds, which stay local, to support CMN Hospitals. This funding helps provide critical life-saving treatments, innovative research and financial assistance for families in Gundersen’s 25-county area.

The 25-county area helped by Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals.

From 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday and Friday Mid-West Family stations Z93, 95.7 the Rock, and KQ98, plus Around River City, will broadcast from Gundersen in La Crosse stories of CMN heroes and their families as part of the radiothon.


HOW TO DONATE
Go online / Call (608) 784-KIDS (5437) / Text: CMNKIDS to 51555 

“​I ​am ​quite ​awestruck ​when ​people ​come ​up ​to ​me ​and ​tell ​me ​about ​their ​experience ​with ​CMN ​hospitals,” Gundersen’s Abby Ryan said on WIZM’s La Crosse Talk. “​I ​always (think), it ​was ​fantastic ​because ​of ​my ​family’s ​experience. ​But ​it ​is ​so ​cathartic ​to ​see ​and ​hear ​these ​stories ​of ​how ​we, ​on ​a ​day-​to-​day ​basis, ​are ​impacting ​families ​and ​their ​children.”


La Crosse Talk airs weekdays at 6-9 a.m. Listen on the WIZM app, online here, or on 92.3 FM / 1410 AM / 106.7 FM (north of Onalaska). Find all the podcasts here or subscribe to La Crosse Talk PM wherever you get your podcasts.


Ryan, who spent some of her childhood at CMN Hospitals, knows first hand the experience these local kids are going through, and you’ll hear stories from this year’s CMN Heroes, including:

“We ​really ​want ​to ​have ​people ​participate ​and ​hear ​the ​stories ​of ​the ​families ​that ​are ​impacted ​by ​what ​CMN ​hospitals ​really ​has ​to ​offer,” CMN’s Abby Ryan said, “​and ​all ​of ​the ​different ​things ​like ​medical ​equipment ​that ​CMN ​hospitals ​can ​fund ​at ​our ​local ​healthcare ​facilities.”

Ryan added that the donations raised help purchase everything from gas and gift cards to equipment the hospitals need, including what’s called a “panda warmer,” which has, in this case, a unique story.

“​Darren, ​who ​did ​the ​maintenance ​on ​the (panda warmer) ​to ​make ​sure ​it ​was ​working ​well, ​his ​wife ​went ​into ​labor ​a ​few ​months ​later, ​and ​their ​child ​was ​one ​of ​the ​first ​children ​to ​use ​the ​panda ​warmer,” Ryan said. “​Oh, ​my ​gosh. ​​It ​is ​an ​unbelievable ​story.”

Ryan also talked about other items that simply go to help keep kids’ minds off things, while they’re undergoing treatment that no child should have to go through.

“Just ​recently ​in ​our ​pediatric ​department, ​we ​were ​able ​to ​fund ​a ​piece ​of ​equipment ​called ​a ​vecta, ​which ​is ​like ​a ​bubble ​machine, ​essentially — ​but ​I’m ​really ​downplaying ​what ​it ​actually ​is,” she said. “When ​you ​are ​getting ​poked ​and ​prodded, ​or ​going ​through ​a ​procedure ​as ​a 7 ​year ​old, ​sometimes ​as ​a 3 ​year ​old, ​and ​you ​don’t ​know ​really ​what’s ​going ​on, ​something ​to ​distract ​you, ​a ​sensory ​machine like ​that ​is ​so ​important ​for ​the ​healthcare ​workers ​to ​be ​able ​to ​do ​their ​job ​while ​simultaneously ​not ​traumatizing ​the ​child.”

Host of WIZM's La Crosse Talk PM | University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point graduate | Hometown: Greenville, Wis | Avid noonball basketball player and sand volleyballer in La Crosse

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