Kruse to give back to St. Jude hospital

Thirteen years ago, Scott Kruse received devastating news: Medical personnel were "99% sure" his daughter, 3-year-old Andie, had Leukemia.

The family canceled its Christmas plans and instead went to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee. A few days later, they got a Christmas miracle -- no cancer -- and a much more common one -- call it the St. Jude miracle -- no bill for services provided by the hospital.

In April, Kruse, a principal in the Dexter, Missouri, school system, will have a chance to honor the hospital as one of 10 selected to represent St. Jude in the Boston Marathon. He is following in the footsteps of Shannon Aldridge, former team member, who lost a daughter, Sahara, 13, to a brain tumor and who inspired him to pursue a placement on the team.

Those wanting to participate on the team pass through a selection process and pledge to raise $10,000 for the hospital. Kruse has nearly reached that amount already and plans to raise $20,000.

The story of how St. Jude Children's Research Hospital came to be is as wondrous as the work its team continues to this day. A young Danny Thomas was shuffling along, uncertain of his future. He prayed to St. Jude Thaddeus, patron saint of lost causes, promising to build a shrine to the saint in exchange for clarity.

His entertainment career took off, and he kept his promise. The hospital opened Feb. 4, 1962.

Since then, thousands of children have had their lives saved by the ground-breaking work performed there. In stark numbers: childhood cancer survival rates have risen from 20% in the 1960s to more than 80% today.

But it is St. Jude's financial policy that truly sets it apart: No family ever receives a bill for treatment, travel, housing or food. St. Jude bills a family's insurance company, if applicable, but never asks for co-pays or deductibles. As its website states: "All a family should worry about is helping their child live."

Scott Kruse has a personal reason to want to help St. Jude carry on its lifesaving work.

We all do.