Huntsville Havoc fans proved once again just how generous they are! Saturday, February 2, Havoc players wore jerseys trimmed in baby blue, bearing the logo of the Melissa George Neonatal Memorial Fund. After the game, they auctioned those game-worn, autographed jerseys off to fans, along with pink sticks they used during warm-ups. The auction raised more than $65,000 for Melissa’s Fund! The money will be used to buy two state-of-the-art Giraffe OmniBeds for the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Huntsville Hospital for Women & Children. In addition, hundreds of fans brought items for the NICU, such as blankets, hats, booties, clothes and disposable cameras or monetary donations to the Melissa George Neonatal Memorial Fund. A huge thank you to all of the Havoc fans who made Melissa George Night such a great success!

Heather Pierce is all smiles next to her favorite player, #22 Tim Hockley. She used her birthday money to buy his pink hockey stick!	A young Havoc fan proudly wears her Melissa George jersey signed by #2 Matt Curley.
Chris George and daughter Ann Catherine dropped the puck at Melissa George Night at the Huntsville Havoc game.	Amy & Chris George pose with Havoc coach John Gibson, Havoc team owners Becky & Keith Jeffries and members of the Havoc staff.

Click here to see a slideshow from Melissa George Night at the Havoc game.

Thanks to everyone who made the 2nd Annual Swim for Melissa such a great success! This year’s event, held August 10th-11th, raised more than $115,000 for the Melissa George Neonatal Memorial Fund at Huntsville Hospital Foundation. These are unofficial results, as money is still coming in!

We had a record number of people attend this year’s event. More than 350 people enjoyed the Miracle Bash at The Ledges on Friday, August 10th. And 181 swimmers and 25 teams hit the water at Hampton Cove Pool on Saturday to raise money and swim laps at Swim for Melissa.

Our goal was to raise enough money to buy one Giraffe OmniBed for the Regional Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Huntsville Hospital for Women & Children. Thanks to the donations and support from people across the Tennessee Valley, the Melissa George Neonatal Memorial Fund will use the proceeds from this event to purchase three of these state-of-the-art beds for critically ill and premature infants!

Thanks for helping us make a big splash for tiny babies!

Pediatric Pulmonologist Dr. Vinit Mahesh, Neonatalogists Dr. Lee Morris, Dr. Tommy Davison and Dr. Meyer Dworksy and RNICU nurse Jennifer Godwin were on hand at the Miracle Bash to help raise money for premature infants in the RNICU.

Miracle Bash co-chairs Cathy Scholl (far left) and Margaret-Anne Crumlish (middle) with Charlotte Wessel, Kevin Crumlish and John Wessel.

Above: The Plunkett Preemie Patch had three good reasons to take part in Swim for Melissa! Brothers Jonathan, Jeremy (back row) and Jamey (front row, far left) were all born premature and spent time in Huntsville Hospital for Women & Children’s RNICU. They came in second place by raising $7,981! Left: The Blossomwood Dolphins, led by Team Captain Smith Wolford (front left), were the Grand Prize Winners of Swim for Melissa. They raised $8,596! 8-year-old Smith was born 14 weeks early and spent three and a half months in the RNICU at Huntsville Hospital for Women & Children.

Links to NewsChannel 19 Feature Stories: New Bed is Saving the Lives of Preemies The Georges' Story: Great Loss, Great Blessing Ann Catherine's Journey Through NICU

Amy & Chris George

Amy and Chris George are familiar faces to many Tennessee Valley residents. Amy was an award-winning journalist for WHNT News Channel 19 in Huntsville and now works at Huntsville Hospital Foundation. You may better recognize Chris in a hockey jersey. The Kitchener, Ontario, native played for the Huntsville Channel Cats hockey team from 1996 through 2001. He's now a medical sales representative.

Melissa & Ann Catherine's Story

In June 2005, Amy gave birth at 26 weeks to Melissa Suzanne and Ann Catherine. Melissa weighed one pound, nine ounces and unfortunately died just a few hours after she was born. Ann Catherine weighed one pound, fifteen ounces and was in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Huntsville Hospital for Women & Children for 68 days. Ann Catherine went home in August 2005 and is pictured here as a happy, healthy one-year-old.

Melissa's Fund
Amy and Chris were touched by the care both of their daughters received in the NICU. In their words, "The doctors and nurses there take God's tiniest miracles and give them a chance at life." In November 2005, they established the Melissa George Neonatal Memorial Fund to raise money to buy life-saving equipment for the NICU. Amy says, "We can't think of a better way to honor Melissa's memory. Her time on Earth may have been short, but she'll live forever in our hearts. We are excited about all the good we'll be able to do in her name through this fund."

Regional Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Huntsville Hospital for Women & Children

The Regional Neonatal Intensive Care Unit is the only Level III intensive care unit for critically ill babies in the North Alabama region. The RNICU cares for over 800 babies each year. The RNICU is a state-of-the-art unit designed to provide the latest in high tech and "high touch" care for infants and their families in a homelike environment that encourages parental involvement in care.
The unit includes 45 beds in two nurseries, Intensive Care and Progressive Care. The RNICU staff includes 4 neonatologists and a staff of more than 80 nurses who are specially trained to care for premature and critically-ill infants.

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