Making sure 9 days of life live on

ARVADA - Dan and Corinne McMurray were meant to be parents. That is obvious when you see them with their three children.

"Children are mine and my husband's life," McMurray said.

Four-year-old Tommy is adopted. One-year-old twins, Isabelle and Tyler, were in vitro egg donor babies.

Doctors told Corinne McMurray she was never supposed to have biological children. But three years ago she got pregnant and Rhiannon was born May 3, 2006.

"She was a miracle," McMurray said. "She was perfect."

Nine days later, there was nothing the McMurrays could do to save their daughter. An enterovirus, which McMurray says is rare in infants, took their daughter's life.

"I remember she was strong up until the end. She was so strong," McMurray said. "We went through every emotion possible, we went through pain and blame and horrible heartache."

Then while flipping through a parenting magazine, McMurray found a group out of New York called the R Baby Foundation. The founders lost their daughter at the very same age, the very same year.

They've raised more than $3 million to help hospitals improve pediatric emergency care.

"Every single hospital has room to grow, every single doctor has room to grow," McMurray said.

The couple formed the Colorado chapter of the R Baby Foundation to help.

The McMurrays are raising money for training, research and new technology at The Children's Hospital.

The funds will pay for new technology and training that will allow emergency medical technicians to open the airways of babies who are having breathing emergencies more accurately and quickly.

It will also fund new research in the field of neonatal viruses and the development of a statewide 24/7 communication network that will allow generalist and rural pediatricians connect to the experts at The Children's Hospital.

"We wanted to make sure that Rhiannon's nine days of life lived on," McMurray said. "We wanted to make sure that she wasn't just forgotten. She was here for a reason, she was here for a wonderful reason and now we can use what we learned and what we have to try to save as many lives as absolutely possible."

Dr. Harley Rotbart, professor and vice chairman of Pediatrics at Children's, says the work of the R Baby Foundation is very important.

"There are so many areas of pediatric care that are vital to the health of kids, so many diseases that can tragically affect kids, that no single organization or group can possibly devote itself to all of them," he said. "The distinct three projects of the R Baby Foundation have the potential for a tremendous benefit to The Children's Hospital and to kids in the region. While The Children's Hospital may appear to be a huge enterprise with an equally huge mission, in fact we are made up of many, many individual enterprises and individual missions, all with the same goal - improving the lives and health of kids. We anticipate that the R Baby Foundation will become a very important component of the wonderful work that is done at The Children's Hospital of Denver."

The Colorado chapter of the R Baby Foundation is holding a fundraiser Saturday, Sept. 26. It's a 2-mile walk and family festival at City Park in Denver. The event is scheduled from 7:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.

Advance registration is $25 per person or $70 per family. Additional information, including online sign-up, is available at www.rbabywalkcolorado.org.

The Colorado branch also keeps supporters updated at www.facebook.com/rbabycolorado and www.twitter.com/rbabyco.