Telethon airs Monday on WGAL-TV8
The 34th annual Children’s Miracle Network Telethon benefitting Penn State Children’s Hospital will air Monday, June 4 from 5 a.m. to 8 p.m. on WGAL-TV 8. The telethon will be broadcast from the Children’s Hospital (1st floor, Treehouse Café). Telethon viewers will be encouraged to make a donation by calling 1-877-543-7365 or visiting WGAL.com or CMNHershey.org. Gifts will support life-saving equipment, family-centered programs and transformative research at the Children’s Hospital. At the conclusion of the telethon, Children’s Miracle Network will announce the total money raised for the 2017-2018 fundraising year.
Telethon segments highlighting stories of children who have received life-saving care at the Children’s Hospital will air throughout WGAL’s regular programming from 5 a.m. to 6 p.m. The telethon will be featured during WGAL’s News 8 at 6 p.m. followed by a live finale from 7 to 8 p.m. A few of the children who will be featured include:
- 8-year-old Taylor Oesterling of Marysville, who has spent more than 360 days in the hospital and has endured 27 surgeries. He shares a special bond with his mother, Kristen, who gave him the gift of life — twice. After many months of dialysis, Taylor’s mom gave him one of her kidneys. Today, Taylor is doing well and dreams of being a pilot or a surgeon.
- 5-year-old Addison Sechrist of Lebanon, who was born at 25 weeks and spent 87 days in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Penn State Children’s Hospital. Her mom, Stacy Sechrist, was on hospital bedrest in 2012 when she watched our telethon. That year, we purchased NICU incubators. Stacy recalled, “I knew I was going to have a child that was going to spend time in the NICU and it was very reassuring and comforting to see the dedication to materials and research that goes into help babies like Addison!”
- 14-year-old Nick Cropper of Lancaster was born with multiple complex heart defects, including a severe narrowing of the aorta and hypoplastic right heart syndrome. His lungs had to work twice as hard to provide enough oxygen for him to survive. At just two months old, Nick was rushed to Penn State Children’s Hospital where doctors performed life-saving surgery. Despite needing additional surgeries as he grew, Nick is defying the odds. View a video about Nick.