Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals, Mid-West Family La Crosse see $118,000 in donations from community

A giant thanks from one organization to another in the La Crosse community.

Children’s Miracle Network (CMN) Hospitals helps provide funding for families in need that can’t make ends meet when their kids are battling a disease or illness.

Each year, Mid-West Family La Crosse teams up with CMN for a 24-hour Radiothon, asking for the community’s help in donating to those in need.

This year, CMN Hospitals said Wednesday this year’s Radiothon saw $118,000 in donations. 

Abby Ryan, a CMN specialist, noted Wednesday on La Crosse Talk PM that the money stays 100 percent local and helps families with anything from basic needs to special medication. 

La Crosse Talk PM airs weekdays at 5:06 p.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.

“We had a girl who was fighting leukemia and she needed her liquid medication,” Ryan told the La Crosse Talk PM audience Wednesday. “It was a special drink that was really, really expensive and insurance — it was just red tape after red tape. And (CMN) was able to swoop in with less than 24 hours and get her what she needed at that particular moment.”

The radiothon ran Oct. 10-11 in two 12-hour shifts, bringing in families and children that have gone through CMN Hospitals, telling their stories. 

Ryan noted these donations will go to the basics, like gas cards or gift cards, as well. But also, equipment that hospitals need, too.

We’ve had Panda Warmers for newborn babies,” she said. “It helps weigh them, keep them warm. It checks their oxygen levels. We also have Giraffes — which is kind of like an incubator — in the NICU. And so we’re able to provide medical equipment for our littlest patients, our pediatric patients. We’re just so proud of our community for coming together for such an amazing cause.”