The Marikle Foundation is the outcome of a long battle, a turn for the worse, and a miracle.

In 2005, Marik Lingo, all of 7 years old, discovered she had leukemia. She immediately began a long series of chemotherapy treatments.  Fortunately the chemotherapy was working and the leukemia was being destroyed.  Unfortunately, so was Marik’s heart.  Shortly after her last treatment, it was discovered that the treatments had severely damaged her heart.  And so began another trying stretch as the search for a new heart began.

New hearts require genetic matching and are not easy to find.  So they waited.  They waited for the miracle that would save Marik’s life.  And then it happened.  On May 11, 2007, while at the zoo, Carrie and Mark Lingo got the call, the beep actually.  A donor heart had been found and Marik would get a new lease on life.

Today, Marik is happy, healthy and truly a miracle.

So what is the Marikle Foundation?  The Marikle Foundation is an organization formed to help the kids and families that are enduring a similar fate to Marik’s.  Every year the Markile Foundation holds a number of fundraisers with that money being used to provide lodging, meals and other necessities to families that wouldn’t otherwise be able to stay with their children while they’re hospitalized.  In Marik’s words:

“Raising money to buy gifts for kids in the hospital and to help their parents pay some bills”.

Hope you can help.