Hunter has made it successfully through three open-heart surgeries in his short life, but now it’s time to celebrate all that MUSC Children’s Hospital through the generosity of the Children’s Miracle Network has done to give him a normal life. To launch his year as champion ambassador, Hunter started his day with a private tour of the USS Yorktown. The ship’s mascot, Scrappy, welcomed him on board before he began to explore “The Fighting Lady.” His favorite stops on his tour were the Apollo 8 exhibit (where he experienced launching into space and descending back to earth before being picked up by the USS Yorktown) and the flight simulator. He also enjoyed checking out all of the aircraft on the flight deck.
After his tour of the ship, he headed landside and took off in a helicopter for a tour around the harbor and downtown Charleston, SC with his mom and three-year old sister Emma. After landing, he jumped into a vintage 1939 Plymouth and headed downtown to the Renaissance hotel for an official press conference and launch party.
As a SC Champion Ambassador, Hunter will help share the story and mission of the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals with media, corporations, lawmakers and celebrities on tours in Atlanta, Washington and Florida. Hunter was selected, in part, because donations helped to provide the surgical devices that his doctors used to correct his heart, according to Miranda Barnard, vice president of communications at Children's Miracle Network Hospitals. “He will be a great champion ambassador, helping people understand the impact of making donations of any amount to their Children’s Miracle Network Hospital,” she said. “Those dollars add up to make a huge difference to local kids such as Hunter.”
Patriots Point Naval & Maritime Museum was honored to spend part of the day with this very special young boy and his family. Check out the pictures of his visit below:
