Launch Miracle Travel Works

Online, May 24, 2011 (Newswire.com) - Ask any parent of a sick child, and they will tell you - medical care is expensive. But they will also tell you that the love and support of a family is priceless to a sick child. Often, these parents give up everything, including their jobs and their savings, to travel long distances to get the specialized care their child needs. Then, when the medical bills come, they take on additional jobs. But paying those bills is an uphill battle that often is never won.

Kim Sumpter, mother of 17-year-old Carson who has been diagnosed with osteosarcoma, owns her own business and therefore has had the flexibility to spend time with her son through his chemotherapy. They live in Birmingham but have traveled to Houston for weeks at a time to receive treatments from a specialist. The local community has been very supportive and helped them raise money through various fundraisers, but as the next round of treatments approaches, they have found themselves in need of more financial support.

"It has been a whirlwind traveling to get care for Carson," Sumpter stated. "We made the right decision to travel to Houston to get the specialized care that we needed, but in the mean time I have completely lost touch with my business. The obvious need is there to be with your child and give them the best care possible, but the reality is that there is a price tag for it. And, as any mom would, I would pay anything in the world for Carson to be healthy and happy."

It is stories like that of the Sumpter family that inspired a small group of friends from Des Moines, Iowa to develop Miracle Travel Works, a nonprofit organization that addresses the growing need for specialized health care for sick children and the expenses that come with it.

It is an unfortunate fact that each and every day, loving, caring parents are forced to watch helplessly as their children suffer from heartbreaking illness and injury. The costs of treatment can become unmanageable and many families find themselves in the terrible position of not being able to afford the best treatments for their children, especially if travel is involved.

Additionally, if they do have the resources to provide for the child's travel, it is often impossible for the parents to accompany them due to formidable expenses and absence from work. While there is often little direct medical help they can provide, their very presence alongside their children - holding their hands in cold operating rooms or keeping them company during long and lonely hospital stays - can make all of the difference in the world to these scared children.

"Watching my oldest brother's family spend countless hours in the NIC unit after their youngest son was born without a diaphragm was very tough to watch and very humbling," said Nate Burk, co-founder of Miracle Travel Works. "Although they were fortunate enough to be able to take off work through Ethan's hospitalization and were financially secure, many families are not."

"Going to visit my nephew in the hospital and hearing stories of other families that could only see their child once a week, at best, because of financial burdens or job constraints was tough to swallow," says Burk. My brother and his wife shared stories of all the different programs they learned about while in the hospital to help lessen the financial burden families undergo while getting the care their children need. Hearing of these programs and how much they helped the families pushed us to start Miracle Travel Works, Inc."

Continues Burk, "Our goal is to assist families with travel expenses so their children can get the care they need. We believe that your economic status should not be the determining factor on whether a sick child gets the appropriate medical care, or whether a child's parents can be with them during their treatment.

Medical treatment is evolving every day, and every child deserves the chance to get the treatment that gives them the best chance at surviving, regardless of the geographic location. My nephew may not have survived had he been born five years sooner. However, because of the amazing medical care he was given, he is now a beautiful little boy who runs, plays, and gets into trouble like other children his age. Our goal is for other children and their families to enjoy the miracle we experienced."

No one associated with Miracle Travel Works receives a salary. Therefore, 100% of donations are used toward the goal of helping children and their families.

Those interested in making a donation or families who wish to requesting assistance from Miracle Travel Works are encouraged to visit www.miracletravelworks.org for more information.