Generosity never goes out of style
Photos by Haley Friesen
On November 18, the annual FashionFest was held at McNamara Alumni Center to raise money for the University of Minnesota Masonic Children’s Hospital. Attendees browsed clothing and accessories as well as experienced a live fashion show featuring clothing from local companies and boutiques, modeled by metro celebrities and a former patient.
Tori Ostlund (1): Our daughter, Summer, was the 800th heart transplant performed at the hospital. Now she’s a rambunctious little 3-year-old. The hospital was our home for four months, and they really took care of our whole family—not just Summer.
Natalie Bushaw (3): I have twin boys, 13 years old, one of whom was born with a congenital heart defect and serious pulmonary issues.
So we’ve spent a lot of time at the hospital, and we often talk about how our son is a professional patient. He received a heart transplant this summer and, in September, went through a bad bout of rejection. If not for the care that he received at the Children’s Hospital, he wouldn’t be here. And that’s kind of a hard statement to make.
Katie Severt (4): I’m on the board of the adoption medicine clinic, which is part of the hospital. The clinic assists families that are considering adoption and helps children once they are brought home. My daughter is adopted from Korea. Six months after we adopted her, she walked the runway at this event and was just the star of the show. It was such a wonderful moment for us.
Sara Dolan (5): I’m a nurse in the Intensive Treatment Center at the Children’s Hospital. I’m on the unit with the kids all the time. Half of the time, a lot of the kids call me “Mom.” You just have to give them that warm, loving touch—being that person is really special and meaningful.
As told to Britta Greene
