Race for Every Child:
Local Six-Year-Old Gives Back
to the Hospital That Saved Her Life
TEXT: Erica Baca
M att and Sarah Rodjom of Fairfax, VA were
overjoyed when they found out they were
expecting twin daughters in the spring of 2011.

But at their 20-week checkup, their joy turned to worry
and fear.

One of their daughters, Marisa, had a cyst where half of
her right lung should have been. The diagnosis was grim.

Doctors told the Rodjoms that their baby may have major
birth defects, or worse, she may not survive.

The Rodjoms immediately sought the expertise of the
16 October 2017 washingtonFAMILY.com
team at Children’s National Health System. The first-time
parents had never realized the benefit of having a top-10
pediatric hospital in their backyard. But like countless
families before, and after, Matt and Sarah quickly
realized how reassuring and life-saving Children’s
National would be for their growing family.

The team at Children’s National began monitoring twins
Marisa and Emily weekly and worried that Marisa might
not be breathing when she was born.

Luckily, at 36 weeks, Sarah delivered the girls without
any complications. Marisa would be monitored for 11



months as she grew strong enough to withstand the surgery
to remove the cyst. After a successful surgery, she returned
home healthy — just in time for her first birthday.

“We’ll always be grateful to Children’s National,” Matt
says. “Doctors and nurses went above and beyond to care
for Marisa and reassure us as parents. Even as we were
dealing with the stress of the unknown, the environment that
Children’s National has created made us feel like we were
not in a hospital. Marisa got to ride in a wagon to her room,
nurses delighted her with bubbles and she loved watching
the fish in the massive fish tank. She was able to focus on just
being a kid.”
Now a boisterous 6-year-old, Marisa will be running in the
Race for Every Child to give back to the hospital that saved
her life. Siblings Emily and Zachary will join Marisa in the
100-yard Kids Dash, and Matt and Sarah will run the 5K
through downtown D.C. Although Matt is legally blind, he
is still able to pursue his passion of running. He has run 10
marathons and placed third in last year’s Race for Every
Child. “Our kids love seeing the superheroes and receiving their
Kids Dash medal from Dr. Bear, Children’s National’s
mascot,” Matt says.

Philanthropic events like the Race for Every Child help ensure
that every child treated at Children’s National receives the
same exceptional care, regardless of their family’s ability to
pay. In 2015, Children’s National provided more than $63M in
uncompensated care and $108M in community benefit.

Proceeds from the Race for Every Child also support
Children’s National in continuing to develop innovative
therapies, find lifesaving cures for childhood diseases and
improve the overall state of pediatric health for years to come.

Please join the Rodjom family, the Washington Family
team and thousands of others for this year’s Race for Every
Child 5K and Kids Dash at Freedom Plaza in downtown
Washington, D.C. on Oct. 21 from 8 a.m.–Noon.

Register, create a team or simply donate at raceforeverychild.

org. Enter WFAMILY5 to receive $5 off your 5K registration.

Registration closes on Oct. 12.

Erica Baca is the director of the Race for Every Child, one of the
region’s largest events focused on children’s health. To date, the
event has raised more than $4.3 million for Children’s National
Health System. This year’s Race is Oct. 21. To learn more, register
and donate visit raceforeverychild.org.

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