Mila and Kade Hammes
Crossing finsih des moines marathon
Motivated By the Push to Live Life to the Fullest
Our founder, Kade Hammes, always knew he wanted to start his own financial planning business, but his prior job was simply too beneficial to walk away from. Every year, he would tell himself “In five years, I’ll have saved this much and I’ll finally walk away to live my dream.” Every year it remained five years, until the summer of 2019.
On April 5th, 2019, our founder’s daughter Mila was born with Cystic Fibrosis (CF). CF is a rare genetic disease that has robbed too many people of tomorrows by progressively limiting their ability to breathe and tragically shortening their lives. There are approximately 30,000 Americans living with CF.
Kade quickly gained respect for all parents; however, most specifically parents forced to helplessly watch their children suffer. Less than two weeks into her life, Karen and Kade would have gave anything to trade her places.
With a constant fear of picking up bacteria harmful to CFers, Kade began modifying some of his plans and dreams. Instead of camping and canoeing, they plan to hike and bike. Instead of annual visits to the lake, they hope to take annual trips to see the world. In 2021 he completed a marathon in her honor as his own way of pushing through and enduring something hard, she held his hand as he crossed the finish line.
As if having a rare disease wasn’t enough, Mila was also born into the final 10% of CFers who cannot benefit from the new miracle drugs known as modulators. This fired a renewed passion into their hearts as the Hammes family and Storybook Financial will not stop the fight until CF stands for Cure Found.
Realizing the Importance of Story Time and Adventure
Mila and Kade love spending time together reading stories and imagining adventures. As a full-time financial planner and a part-time stay-at-home dad, Kade is grateful for the time he spends with his daughter, making memories and enjoying every moment together.