It was her dream. Amber DesRoches died in December 2007, at age 15, four years after being diagnosed with leukemia. She spent a lot of time in the children's hospital imagining what it might become for kids. Her dream has inspired Medcenter One to fulfill Amber's wish, and has ignited the spirit of many across North Dakota to help.
She even sent a letter to the CBS television show, Extreme Home Makeover asking for their help to make the hospital a more pleasant place for sick children.
The goal for fund raising for the children's hospital project is $700,000. The Medcenter One Foundation, the organization charged with raising the funds, is making sure that Amber's Dream will happen and construction has already begun.
The Bismarck-Mandan Pioneer Auto Club previously, rebuilt and auctioned off a Chevy Malibu and raised $77,000.
Now they’re working on a 1938 Chevy that was displayed at Lake Chevrolet throughout the Devils Run weekend where Jeff Wahl was caught grilling hamburgers and hot dogs and serving up information about Amber’s Dream.
What was Amber’s dream?
The expansion of the children's hospital will add three inpatient beds to the existing 11. It will add six outpatient beds to the eight for same-day surgery pediatric patients. But it's not just adding beds. The finished remodeling and expansion will have the nurses' station looking like a pirate ship, murals on the walls and fish tanks. It will be a more pleasant place for young patients.
Circumstance can be particularly difficult for children when a serious illness strikes. A setting for the children's hospital that's less beige and adult might bring some small comfort to a child. That's Amber's Dream and it's a dream everyone can buy into.
Amber's dream has become a much larger dream. And with more and more of North Dakota behind it, the fund drive has gone remarkably well. Credit that to Amber DesRoches, daughter of John and Pam DesRoches of Mandan. The Medcenter One Children's Hospital project will become a reality. It will be Amber's legacy.
The tickets for this raffle go on sale July 1 for $5 each. The drawing will take place on July 4, 2011 at the Mandan Rodeo.
Tickets may be available here in Devils Lake, so watch the Devils Lake Journal for more information.
Go to www.medcenterone.com for more information and to view photos of the construction that’s underway.
Devils Lake, ND —
