A Rare Case Gets Uncommonly Good Care

Although their case was rare, Angie and Ryan said they got the feeling that the care and consideration they received at Children's were not unique.

"They do it for every family that needs it," Angie said.

Said Ryan: "You go through your life thinking that people don't really care. Through this experience, my mind has been changed tenfold."

The boys' full names are Mateo Asher Shaw and McHale Twain Shaw. Both first names, Ryan said, mean "a gift from God."

As for the middle names, Asher means "to be blessed." And Twain? "To be cut in two."

"We thought that was fitting," Ryan said.

Group Efforts

I recently made my annual pilgrimage to Hoffman, Wasson & Gitler, a patent law firm in Crystal City. Marty Hoffman invites clients and colleagues to a holiday party every year. Don't bring a present, he says. Bring a check for Children's Hospital. The final tally isn't in, but if the past few years are any indication, it will be a nice one.

Hoffman, Wasson & Gitler is just one of the groups that help our campaign. Recently, the College Park Moose Lodge donated $500. The Saturday Club, a book group in Columbia, donated $100 in memory of Helen Harden. The Laborers' International Union of North America donated $1,000. E.J. Whitcomb & Sons Inc. of Silver Spring gave $200.

I'd be happy to list your group here. Remember that your tax-deductible donation will go to pay the hospital bills of children who don't have insurance.

To donate, make a check or money order out to "Children's Hospital" and mail it to Washington Post Campaign, P.O. Box 17390, Baltimore, MD 21297-1390.

To donate online using a credit card, go to http://www.washingtonpost.com/childrenshospital.

To contribute by phone using Visa or MasterCard, call 202-334-5100.

Join us as we solve the problems of the world during my online chat at 1 p.m. tomorrow athttp://www.washingtonpost.com/liveonline.