Meet the Apostol family, our 7th annual Summer Scamper poster family!
Last year, we noticed a trend: this sweet family of four had taken nearly identical photos at the Summer Scamper finish line two years in a row. We had to wonder: were there more?! We reached out to the Apostol family and were delighted to hear that not only have they been loyal Scamper-ers for all six years, they had the collection of photos to prove it.
“Summer Scamper has become a family tradition,” says mom, Cecil with her husband, Randy. “We started off with three of us. I Scamper-ed after we had Aria at LPCH, and then again when I was pregnant with Mavis. The following year baby Mavis joined the team. Now our team keeps growing!”
Both of their daughters were born at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford, an obvious choice since both parents work just steps away at Stanford Hospital, Randy as a lab technician and Cecil as a clinical lab scientist.
“We actually met at another lab, and from there we’ve been following each other ever since!” jokes Randy.
Although the Apostols initially chose Packard Children’s for the convenience, they benefitted from the expert care our hospital is renowned for.
“It was 2-3 weeks before my due date. I wasn’t gaining enough weight, so I was having appointments more often. I went in for what I thought was my last appointment and they said the baby wasn’t feeding well and I had to be induced,” Cecil recalls of that frightening moment. “I didn’t have anything with me! Randy was planning to go to work after the appointment, but he didn’t end up working that day because I had to go into labor.”
After the family’s initial shock of being rushed into the delivery room, baby Aria was born healthy and strong. Through it all, there was one person who stuck out in their minds.
“Everybody at the hospital was so helpful, but there was one person in particular: our nurse. She was amazing. She was always there, always checking on me, and she had a very light and bubbly personality,” says Cecil. “You can tell she really loves her job. Three years later, for our second baby, we had the same nurse!”
This June 25, the Apostol family will continue their Scamper tradition, seven years strong. Aria (age 5) may even be running in her very first kids’ fun run. And you’ll be sure that we’ll be there with our camera to capture their winning smiles.
Register to Scamper with the Apostol family and start your own family tradition!
