Dance marathon

Each year the MHS Dance Marathon honors a Miracle Family. This year’s Miracle Family was the Speltz family: Mark, Peyton, 13, Jennifer, and Marissa, 9. (Jennifer Speltz is the Monticello elementary school nurse.) In 2015, the family thought Peyton was suffering from a stomach bug. After days of not getting better, he was admitted into St. Luke’s Hospital to undergo numerous tests. After it was determined Peyton had shiga toxin-producing E. coli. When his kidneys started to fail, Peyton was transferred to the UI Hospitals and Clinics where the family met with a team of doctors. Peyton was put on dialysis to filter his blood and get rid of the toxins. Jennifer said the team at UI saved her son’s life. After countless procedures and tests, Peyton returned home a month later. While he still sees his nephrologist and hematologist regularly, Peyton is down to just one medication. “We thank the Monticello students for their hard work in raising money for the UI,” said Jennifer. “We are so blessed to have their (UI) expertise so close by!”