When Miracle Homes Hit Home

Last week, we blogged about what makes a house a RE/MAX Miracle Home and the $115 million the program has provided for our hospitals across the U.S. and Canada. This week, we'd like to introduce you to Jessica Clausen, a RE/MAX agent with a very real and intimate tie to one of our CMN Hospitals. Here's her story…

Jessica Clausen pauses for a moment when fixing a Miracle Home rider to her signs. She’s well aware of the hope her Miracle Office contributions provide to families. They’re funds that helped when her two children, Jaicee and Jakob, required specialty treatments at a Children’s Miracle Network Hospital.

Clausen is an Arbutus, Maryland Associate at RE/MAX New Beginnings, which operates as a “100 percent” Miracle Office since opening its doors in 2009.

Well before then, Jessica found herself at Johns Hopkins Children’s Center, finally receiving a diagnosis for her 4-year-old daughter Jaicee’s declining health: a serious kidney disorder called VUR. Eventually, doctors at Johns Hopkins performed an 11-hour surgery and issued a clear bill of health. “There is a cry I’ve only cried four times in my life, and receiving Jaicee’s good news was one,” Clausen recounts.

In late 2010, Clausen’s 7-week-old son Jakob also found himself at Johns Hopkins and under the care of Jaicee’s doctor. Tests showed an inguinal hernia, and surgery was performed the following week. Today, Clausen is relieved to have both of her treated kids in good health, and to this day remembers the iconic Miracle Balloon on the wall while waiting in the pre-operating room.

RE/MAX agent Jessica Clausen is celebrating August's Month of Miracles with two of her own: Jaicee, age 10 and Jakob, 1, both treated at Johns Hopkins Children's Center in Maryland. Her husband Brian and son Payson (center) are also celebrating the month with her.

In addition to hosting a CMN Hospitals benefit every February and regular donations made in her clients’ names, Clausen plans to celebrate August’s first “Month of Miracles” by making dinner for Hopkins House residents, which offers a free place to stay for out-of-town Hopkins patients and their families. “My whole family enjoys our time there, and it gives visiting guests some time to wind down and someone to talk to," she says with a smile.

To learn more about why August is a Month of Miracles, click here.