11 summers of Max, 11 more summers for a child in need

This is the 11th summer of Max's life. 

11 summers since we took him home from the NICU after his stroke, so anxious about his future.

11 summers of being warmed by his sunny smile.

11 summers of seeing him eating ice-cream, drinking lemonade, splashing in the pool, going on kiddie rides and enjoying the seasonal pleasures, just like any kid.

11 summers of thinking he looks so handsome in a navy polo and khaki shorts.

11 summers of being wowed by his accomplishments, even the small ones a Big Deal.

11 summers of watching him roll down our street—first in a walker, now on a bike—and never once taking it for granted.

11 summers of hearing new sounds and words, ones doctors weren't sure would ever come. Latest: "eesah!" ("pizza!") 

11 summers of thinking that the season makes him grow super-fast.

11 summers of sitting with him on the front porch at dusk, mesmerized by fireflies and just loving being alive.

11 summers of gratitude that he is proving the doomsaying doctors in the NICU wrong. 

Today, I'm also thinking about kids who need a shot at reaching milestones—and living life. Every 20 seconds, a child dies from a vaccine-preventable disease. Every year, 1.5 million children die of diseases that could have been prevented by a vaccine. Some moms walk up to 15 miles just to get their children vaccines. Some moms don't have access to them. 

This post is inspired by Shot@Life, an initiative of The United Nations Foundation that educates, connects and empowers the championing of vaccines as one of the most cost-effective ways to save the lives of children in the world's most hard-to-reach places.

Throughout August, 31 bloggers are participating in Shot@Life's Blogust, writing every day about moments that matter and raising awareness about vaccines. For each comment on this post and the 30 other posts, Walgreens will donate a vaccine (up to 50,000 vaccines). 

That's right, ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS COMMENT AND A CHILD WILL GET A VACCINE. It can be as short as "Glad to help!" It can be longer. As they say, size doesn't matter.

We can change the reality of children dying from preventable diseases. We can help save lives with a few pecks of the keyboard. So please, for the love of children, leave a comment.

Sign up here for a daily email so you can quickly and easily comment and share every day during Blogust! Stay connected with Shot@Life at shotatlife.org, join the campaign on Facebook and follow them on Twitter.