By Dan Mitchell, MLM Blog Correspondent
This from The Salt Lake Tribune:
Carter Dunn, 39, of Draper was sitting at work in April when his mother called him to tell him the news.
His great niece, Taylor Jaussi, was facing yet another heart
surgery and more trying circumstances. Jaussi was born six weeks
prematurely with a three-chamber heart and spent the first 44 days of
her life in a hospital. At age 2, she received corrective surgery to
separate the chambers of her heart.
But a complication from the surgery damaged a valve, causing it to
leak, resulting in a second surgery that tried to fix the mitral valve.
She has been limited in physical activity and relegated to medication
ever since. With Jaussi's heart waning and the second surgery
unsuccessful, a third operation to replace the mitral valve is
necessary for the 10-year-old.
"When you hear news like this, you just feel helpless," Dunn said.
But what Dunn realized minutes later is that he had already
put in place a giant support group for Jaussi only a month earlier
without knowing it. Dunn is a fitness fanatic and an avid long-distance runner. From his passion,
the B-12 Running Club was born in March. Preparing for the Salt Lake
Marathon with a couple of friends, they decided to put together a
12-mile run in Bountiful.
Dunn smirks as he explains how the Bountiful Dozen turned into the
B-12 and then garnered the slogan "Put a shot of B-12 in your life" and
turned into a Facebook.com group with a mascot.
The Facebook group ballooned to over 60 members, with
everyone posting their workouts and creating a positive arena for
physical fitness. The day Dunn learned that Jaussi was facing more
tribulations he realized that he had built a reservoir of supportive
friends through B-12.
"I thought to myself, 'I can sit here and feel bad and helpless or maybe we can put together a run for her.'"
He ran the idea by a couple of work buddies who offered their
services immediately. People began jumping on board left and right and,
with the city of Draper's help, the Run for Taylor 5K was created and
set for Draper Park on June 6 to raise money for Jaussi's medical
expenses.
Read more…
And if you'd like to help Taylor go to HelpTaylor.com