INDIANAPOLIS (April 23) - Peyton Manning Children's Hospital at St. Vincent will hold a special dedication ceremony Thursday for a drag-racing-themed MRI room.
The room was completed with funds raised from the Eric Medlen Golf Tournament, hosted annually by Morgan and Katie Lucas. The room is complete with racing memorabilia and photos of the late Funny Car driver, who was killed in a crash in 2007.
"We started the golf tournament as a way to honor Eric, to remember him and keep his legacy going," said Morgan Lucas, owner of Morgan Lucas Racing. "When it came time to decide where the money was going to go, the Children's Hospital was the first place we thought about.
"Eric was one of the best drivers in the pits, if not the best, when it came to the kids."
The relationship with the hospital was cemented last December when the Lucases' newborn son Hunter was admitted for treatment for respiratory syncytial virus.
"As a parent that's the scariest thing you'll ever see, seeing your newborn hooked up to IVs and wires and cables and not being able to help him," Lucas said. "The hospital did a great job, and Hunter was out in a couple of days and on the right track. They helped us understand what we needed to do to help him, and Katie took the reins from there. He's doing great now."
Morgan and Katie Lucas will see the completed room for the first time Thursday.
"There's some new technology and some things they wanted to put in, and with the help and support of everyone who has taken part in the golf tournament we've been able to finish off this room," Lucas said. "What's really cool is it's going to be a room dedicated to drag racing, with a heavy Eric Medlen portion."
The sixth-annual Eric Medlen Golf Tournament will take place Aug. 28 at Eagle Creek Golf Club in Indianapolis.
"Since it's become more personal, Katie and I have taken a bigger interest in the golf tournament," Lucas said. "We're going to try to make this the best one yet.
"We've got to keep people coming to this golf tournament and keep it growing. We are seeing some really special things in the community."
