Patient Stories 
The Formanek family is grateful for Monument Health Foundation. Raising nearly $49,000 since 2020 via their Formanek Electric Charity Golf Tournament, they know first-hand all the good the Foundation can do.
A Fluke in the Womb
The first of Nick and Ally Formanek’s two daughters, Maren, was born on Jan. 5, 2018, at Rapid City Hospital. Although she was about a month premature, the main concern was what they thought to be a mass that had grown on her abdomen in utero.
“There was some connection between her bladder and her uterus that was allowing urine to back flow into her uterus,” said Ally, who works for Visit Rapid City as their Director of Operations.
Two days after Maren’s birth, mother and child were transferred to Sanford Children’s Hospital Sioux Falls via Life Flight, where tiny, newborn Maren was diagnosed with hip dysplasia and urogenital sinus malformation, a random defect that causes the urethra and the vagina to fuse together into one opening, instead of two. “It wasn’t genetic. It was just a fluke in the womb. And we didn’t know anything was wrong until she was born,” said Ally.
Networking a Miracle
The Formaneks were facing a psychologically and emotionally daunting future of multiple treatments and corrective surgeries that would require a surplus of mental fortitude coupled with extensive and expensive travel.
In a serendipitous turn during a series of otherwise unlucky events, Nick, an electrician who later founded the company that now bears his name, happened to be installing electrical wiring in the basement at the home of Angie Kliewer, Certified Fund Raising Executive, the now-retired Monument Health Foundation Director at the time. “She somehow caught wind of Maren’s condition while I was over at her house working, and she’s the one that provided a lot of the information for me,” Nick recalled.
Angie put the Formaneks in touch with Monument Health Foundation’s Children’s Miracle Network Program. “They ended up providing us money for lodging and food while we were in the hospital — and even gas money to go back and forth from Rapid to Sioux Falls when we needed to,” Ally said. Best of all, Rapid City Hospital, Sanford Children’s Hospital and Children’s Nebraska in Omaha, where Maren had her corrective surgery, are all CMN hospitals, so the Foundation was able to help the Formaneks throughout Maren’s treatments, which, all told, took about a year and a half to complete.
Now 6 years old and fully recovered, with a bright future that should be unaffected by her birth defect, Maren has a 3-year old little sister, Blaire, as a constant companion.
Gratitude and Golf
Nick and Ally wanted to find a way to express their appreciation for Monument Health Foundation’s Children’s Miracle Network Program and the Foundation, they sought to do something that would raise money while gathering people around an activity and they wanted it to be fun. They decided on a yearly, charity golf tournament.
The first Formanek Electric Golf Tournament was held at Rapid City Elks Golf Course in September of 2020. A scramble-style, four-person-team tournament, the winning pot is provided directly by Formanek Electric. There is also a 50/50 Chip Challenge into a kid-sized swimming pool.
“This last year, I think we had 43 teams, which equates to about 200 golfers. It just keeps getting bigger and bigger every year,” said Nick.
The most recent tournament, held over Labor Day weekend, raised around $12,000 for Children’s Miracle Network Program at Rapid City Hospital.
Both graduates of Central High School and lifetime Rapid Citians, the fact that the money raised stays local is especially important to Ally and Nick. “Our families are really deep-rooted here, and our families have a lot of connections. Nick’s family lives in Hermosa, so his family has a lot of connections in the southern hills. And my parents both work in downtown Rapid City and have for a very long time,” said Ally.
Nor, said Ally, does the money necessarily always go to strangers. “I had a girlfriend who I was close with in high school who had a daughter who was born at 28 weeks, very small and with a lot of health issues. She’s 3 or 4 now. She had a long road ahead of her, and benefited greatly from Monument Health Foundation’s Children’s Miracle Network Program.”
“It’s nice to help out people that we know and probably a ton more that we don’t know,” offered Nick. “Feels awesome to give back to the community that has given us and our business so much.”
“One of the most powerful affirmations that our fundraising efforts are making a tangible impact on local kids and families is when a family, deeply grateful for the care they’ve received, chooses to pay it forward by organizing their own fundraising initiative to support our cause. This act of generosity not only reflects the meaningful difference we’ve made in their lives, but it also strengthens the sense of community and inspires others to get involved. It’s a beautiful reminder that the support we provide can ripple out, creating a cycle of giving and compassion that benefits even more families in need.” – Shawn Powers, CMN Development Officer