[1]Lucas Kunce for U.S. Senate

Hey John,
it’s Lucas Kunce.

[ [link removed] ]Before I ask you to make a donation of any amount toward my campaign to
defeat Josh Hawley, I want to tell you what this day — October 6th, my
birthday — always makes me think about. Please let me explain.

[ [link removed] ]Family photos of Lucas' first and third birthdays.

I had a lot of great birthdays growing up, but my eighth birthday —
October 6th, 1990 — was going to be something special. That year, I was
going to get a little sister!

There were already three of us kids but, since my parents were
passionately Catholic at the time, we were born in fairly quick succession
and rapidly vacillated between friends and enemies. A couple devastating
miscarriages later, and we were so excited to have a little sister we
could spend all our time doting and loving on.

My mother kept saying it was the easiest pregnancy ever, and we counted
the days excitedly. Two days before my birthday, she was born.

We talked to my parents on the phone. Easiest one yet, my mom proclaimed,
the timing was perfect, they hoped to be home for a birthday party. I
really was getting a little sister for my birthday this year!

After school, my grandma hurried us to the hospital to meet our new little
sister. We each got to hold her as doctors and nurses hustled this way and
that. My mom and dad were tense. They told us our little sister just
needed a few tests run.

Before we knew it, my little sister was on a helicopter to St. Louis, my
parents following closely behind in our van. She was on the verge of dying
and needed open heart surgery.

That birthday did end up being memorable, but for all the wrong reasons.

As an eight-year-old kid, it’s hard not to be selfish. I remember
wondering how, if my sister died on my birthday, would I ever really get a
birthday again?

We never did extravagant presents as kids, since times were always tight,
but every year my mom or grandma would make us a special themed cake. A
baseball, a butterfly, a clown holding balloons… something meaningful for
us.

[ [link removed] ]Family photos from Lucas' fourth birthday.

That year, however, my grandma drove me to the grocery store and told me I
could pick out any cake I wanted. I was sad, but also kind of excited — I
spent hours as a kid ogling the grocery store desserts and wondering what
they were like. I walked up and down the display, looking for the biggest
brightest smash of frosting I could find. When I finally saw it, I just
knew. It was a beautiful white cake with a massive pile of red flowers
flowing out of one corner.

“Are you sure?” My grandma asked, as I told her it was the one. “It’s not
really a birthday cake. But if you want it…”

Oh, I wanted it.

I don’t remember what present I got that year. But I remember eating every
single ounce of that red flower frosting. How the red dye stained my
fingers. And I remember how ridiculously sick I felt after gorging myself
and how I swore I would never eat a bite of frosting again as long as I
lived. An oath I’m sure I broke at the next family birthday. Although, to
this day I don’t go heavy on icing and have flashbacks if I try.

[ [link removed] ]Photo of Lucas with the grocery store cake with red flowers he got for
his eighth birthday.

My sister survived that open heart surgery, several ensuing health scares,
another open-heart surgery, and more. It’s hard to capture the toll that
takes on a family. Mentally, emotionally, and financially.

I remember my mom crying herself to sleep not just because she wasn’t sure
if her little girl would survive, but also because she had no idea how
they were going to make it financially. Something that we could have never
accomplished alone, and only did because we had a community behind us.

All I want for my birthday this year is to make sure no family has to go
through something like that again. [ [link removed] ]That’s why I’m asking you to make a
donation of $10 to help me defeat Josh Hawley and take back
Missouri’s U.S. Senate seat on November 5th:

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contribution instantly:

[ [link removed] ]Contribute $10
[ [link removed] ]Contribute $25
[ [link removed] ]Contribute $30
[ [link removed] ]Contribute $50
[ [link removed] ]Contribute $100
[ [link removed] ]Contribute $250
[ [link removed] ]Give another amount

I’m so honored to have you on this team,
John — and I know that together, we can take
this Senate seat back for real working people.

Thanks for all your help,

Lucas Kunce


 


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