CHERUBS - Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia (CDH)

Daily CDH Vote Reminder - Meet Cherub Mathew Smith

2011-07-26T16:14:00.001-04:00

Please Vote Today - This is your daily vote reminder to help babies born with Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia!

CHERUBS is participating the Vivint Gives Back Contest on Facebook and we need your votes! How to vote:

1. Go to http://www.facebook.com/VivintHome and "Like" Vivint

2. Go to http://www.voteforcdh.org/ and click the Vote button

3. Log in through Facebook and Vote!

4. Repeat #2 and #3 daily through August 27, 2011

Contest Update - Only 1 month left! Holding steady in 3rd place nationally and 2nd in our division.

Contest Voter Tip Of The Day - How many family members and friends have you gotten to vote in honor / memory of your cherub? It takes less time to vote than it does to log in to Facebook. http://www.voteforcdh.org

More Contest Info - visit http://www.voteforcherubs.org/ for information on the contest, the contest video, free graphics, learn where the money would go to help CDH babies and more.

Did You Know? - 144 babies are born with CDH in the world EVERY DAY. 72 do not survive. Please vote to help end CDH!

Meet Our Cherubs! - I am definitely one of the lucky ones! Mathew was born with an undiagnosed left sided CDH. At that time, like most, I had never heard of such a thing. He was taken to a hospital 4 hours away because they thought he would need ECMO and that was closest place that offered it. He was there a month and then transferred closer to home, where he spent the next 5 months. On and off the ventilator, endured surgeries for reflux, but he finally came home. Then was back in 2 months later for bowel obstruction. Seems like a different lifetime, he has been well for so long now! Our family is thankful for everything Cherubs does. The support and education offered by them is something I will forever be thankful for.

- Written by Mathew's mom, Michelle Wolfenbarger

Thank you all for your support and your votes to help CDH babies!

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Vote for CHERUBS at http://www.voteforcdh.org

Contest Info, Fliers, Graphics, etc at http://www.voteforcherubs.org/

Facebook CDH Voting Group at https://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_123312954385123&ap=1

Subscribe to Daily Vote Reminders - dailyvote-subscribe@voteforcherubs.org

Unubscribe to Daily Vote Reminders - dailyvote-unsubscribe@voteforcherubs.org

Feel free to forward this to family and friends!

Submit your cherub to be featured by e-mailing his/her name, photo, date(s) and a short paragraph to membership@cdhsupport.org. By submitting, you give CHERUBS permission to use this data on our site, blogs, newsletters, videos, etc to raise CDH Awareness.

CHERUBS - The Association of Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia Research, Awareness and Support

Public 501(c)III non-profit organization serving over 3000 CDH families in 38 countries. Searching for the cause, prevention and best treatments of CDH since 1995.

http://www.cdhsupport.org/
http://www.cdhresearch.org/
http://cdhsupport.blogspot.com/
http://www.cdhconference.org/

Phone - 919-610-0129 E-mail - info@cdhsupport.org
Mailing Address - 3650 Rogers Rd #290, Wake Forest, NC 27587, USA

Daily CDH Vote Reminder - Meet Cherub Christopher Braxton Davis

2011-07-25T15:58:00.001-04:00

Please Vote Today - This is your daily vote reminder to help babies born with Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia!

CHERUBS is participating the Vivint Gives Back Contest on Facebook and we need your votes! How to vote:

1. Go to http://www.facebook.com/VivintHome and "Like" Vivint

2. Go to http://www.voteforcdh.org/ and click the Vote button

3. Log in through Facebook and Vote!

4. Repeat #2 and #3 daily through August 27, 2011

Contest Update - Over 60,000 votes and help from several celebrities! Still in 3rd place but doing VERY well! Keep it up everyone!!!!

Contest Voter Tip Of The Day - This week our members are posting the vote link to 10 facebook friends and telling them about their cherubs and asking them to post to 10 friends, who post to 10 friends, etc.

More Contest Info - visit http://www.voteforcherubs.org/ for information on the contest, the contest video, free graphics, learn where the money would go to help CDH babies and more.

Did You Know? - CDH is often confused prenatally with gastroschisis and omphalocele.

Meet Our Cherubs! - On December 14, 2010, My Life changed forever. My husband and I went to our first ultrasound appointment to find out the sex of our baby. We found out we were having a boy, and also found out there was something wrong with our precious baby. All that we were told was our baby's heart was sitting far in the left side of his chest. Two days later, we had an appointment with a high-risk prenatal doctor and that's when Braxton was diagnosed with having a right-sided CDH. Needless to say, my husband and I worried day and night for the next few months. On April 7, 2011 Our beautiful son was born. He fought for his life the first 11 days, then had to be put on ECMO for 3 weeks. He finally had his repair surgery a week after coming off ECMO, at 38 days old. The doctors told us on several occasions that Braxton probably wouldn't survive. Today, he is still in the NICU, but he is doing very well. He is still being weaned off his medications and learning to feed with a bottle. This is the hardest thing we have ever had to go through. I know we are extremely lucky to have Braxton with us and we are so thankful! Please take a few minutes and vote for CHERUBS EVERY day. Speak for the babies who don't have a voice of their own!

Written by Braxton's Mother, Jennifer Davis

Thank you all for your support and your votes to help CDH babies!

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Vote for CHERUBS at http://www.voteforcdh.org

Contest Info, Fliers, Graphics, etc at http://www.voteforcherubs.org/

Facebook CDH Voting Group at https://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_123312954385123&ap=1

Subscribe to Daily Vote Reminders - dailyvote-subscribe@voteforcherubs.org

Unubscribe to Daily Vote Reminders - dailyvote-unsubscribe@voteforcherubs.org

Feel free to forward this to family and friends!

Daily CDH Vote Reminder & MATCHING DONATIONS DAY - Meet Cherub Gabriel Schuyler Leight

2011-07-22T15:31:00.002-04:00

Please Vote Today - This is your daily vote reminder to help babies born with Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia!

CHERUBS is participating the Vivint Gives Back Contest on Facebook and we need your votes! How to vote:

1. Go to http://www.facebook.com/VivintHome and "Like" Vivint

2. Go to http://www.voteforcdh.org/ and click the Vote button

3. Log in through Facebook and Vote!

4. Repeat #2 and #3 daily through August 27, 2011

Contest Update - Today is the last day of the Vivint donation matching! We're over halfway to the $2500 in donations needed. Vivint will match up to $2500, raising $5000 for CDH.

Contest Voter Tip Of The Day - Post on friend's Facebook walls, send them messages, ask them to vote in chat. 99% of Facebook friends do not read all of your status updates so most will not see that you are asking for votes. It's important to ask directly.

More Contest Info - visit http://www.voteforcherubs.org/ for information on how you can win prizes in our voter raffle, the contest video, free graphics, learn where the money would go to help CDH babies and more.

Did You Know? - A baby is born with CDH every 10 minutes in the world. That means that 3 babies die from CDH every hour.

Meet Our Cherubs! - Gabriel Schuyler Leight

It is often said that the birth days of your children are the happiest days of your life. On December 2, 2009, we joyfully welcomed our second son, Gabriel Schuyler, into the world. He was perfect--all 8 pounds and 5 ounces of him. He eagerly began eating and looking at the world around him, and his daddy and I spoke of introducing him to his grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and especially his big brother. Gabes spent his first day meeting his family, napping and eating. At 10 o'clock, daddy and I dutifully wheeled Gabriel back to the newborn nursery. Daddy went home to be with the newly minted big brother, while I went to bed, knowing that Gabes would be back in a few hours to nurse again. At 12:30 AM, I got the phone call that would forever change our lives.

It was the neonatologist in the NICU. My new son was very sick and I needed to come down immediately. The doctor met me at the entrance to the NICU and began asking a host of questions: did I have any prenatal care? (of course!) were there any ultrasounds done? (yes) did I do drugs while pregnant? (absolutely not) None of these questions made sense. My beautiful new son was perfect when I last saw him...and then she took me to his bedside. It was almost as though someone had punched me in the gut. There is nothing that can ever prepare a parent for seeing their child hooked up to life support machines. Gabriel was intubated, had tubes running down his nose into his stomach, had a central line in his armpit, blood pressure, oxygen and heart monitors plastered to his delicate skin and the nurses were prepping him for an umbilical catheter. The doctor explained to me that he had a birth defect called Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia and that some of his abdominal organs were in his chest. He would need to have surgery. I asked her to write down the name of the defect because I had never heard of it, and to please call my husband so that he could be with me.

Gabriel had surgery at 48 hours old. His large and small intestine and spleen were in his chest, sitting on top of his left lung. His surgeon hypothesizes that his spleen was in the hernia acting like a cork, which allowed his lungs to develop fully, and that the organs herniated through after he was born, when he began eating and breathing. During the surgery, his collapsed lung re-inflated on its own, and his heart shifted back to its proper place. Eleven days after his operation, his pulled out his respirator, and hasn't looked back since. Gabriel came home with us 20 days after he was born, two days before Christmas.
Gabes is now a very healthy, active, playful and noisy 19-month-old. His scar is the only indication that he was ever sick--that he could have become an angel. Gabriel is why we vote. His daddy and I are only too aware of how lucky we are. We hate CDH. We hate that it takes beautiful babies from their families. We hope that one day CDH will be a thing of the past, and until then, that all families can be as lucky as ours.

Written by Gabes's momma, Alexandra Leight

Thank you all for your support and your votes to help CDH babies!

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Vote for CHERUBS at http://www.voteforcdh.org

Contest Info, Fliers, Graphics, etc at http://www.voteforcherubs.org/

Facebook CDH Voting Group at https://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_123312954385123&ap=1

Subscribe to Daily Vote Reminders - dailyvote-subscribe@voteforcherubs.org

Unubscribe to Daily Vote Reminders - dailyvote-unsubscribe@voteforcherubs.org

Feel free to forward this to family and friends!

CDH Awareness at Today's American Mrs 2011 Pageant

2011-07-21T14:00:00.000-04:00

A HUGE Congratulations and Thank You to Jacquetta Taborn-Moses for winning the Today's American Mrs 2011 national competition and for using CDH & CHERUBS as her pageant platform! Way to go, Jacquetta!!!!!!

July 20th Proclaimed Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia Awareness Day in Guam

2011-07-21T13:30:00.003-04:00

Governor Eddie Calvo and the Doyle family in Guam, raising some major CDH Awareness! Check out the International Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia Awareness Ribbon on their shirts with Pia's photo!

You can read more at http://www.kuam.com/story/15112089/2011/07/20/calvo-honors-young-girl-with-rare-birth-defect?redirected=true

* DISCLAIMER - CHERUBS had no prior knowledge of, or involvement in, any activity or proclamation that infringes upon the rights of the trademark on "Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia Awareness Day" owned by Breath of Hope, Inc. CHERUBS officially recognizes April 19th as the international day of CDH Awareness and encourages Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia Awareness Daily.

Save the Cherubs Posters - Osmund "Oz" Wyatt Kidd-Ward

2011-07-21T11:28:00.002-04:00

Meet cherub Oz, a model for our Save the Cherubs Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia Awareness campaign! Today is Oz's Birthday and Angelversary. Happy Birthday little one, may all the angels sing to you and all the cherubs dance with you on your special day.

Photo by MCate Photography

Download Full Size Poster - http://www.savethecherubs.org/SaveTheCherubs-MarthaCatePhotography-Kidd-WardOz25.png

Cafepress Items - http://www.cafepress.com/cherubs/7879449

Photo by MCate Photography

Download Full Size Poster - http://www.savethecherubs.org/SaveTheCherubs-MarthaCatePhotography-Kidd-WardOz22.png
Cafepress Items - http://www.cafepress.com/cherubs/7879409

Photo by MCate Photography

Download Full Size Poster - http://www.savethecherubs.org/SaveTheCherubs-MarthaCatePhotography-Kidd-WardOz24.png
Cafepress Items - http://www.cafepress.com/cherubs/7879462

Photo by MCate Photography

Download Full Size Poster - http://www.savethecherubs.org/SaveTheCherubs-MarthaCatePhotography-Kidd-WardOz22.png
Cafepress Items - http://www.cafepress.com/cherubs/7879568

Photo by MCate Photography

Download Full Size Poster - http://www.savethecherubs.org/SaveTheCherubs-MarthaCatePhotography-Kidd-WardOz21.png
Cafepress Items - http://www.cafepress.com/cherubs/7879405

Photo by MCate Photography
Download Full Size Poster - http://www.savethecherubs.org/SaveTheCherubs-MarthaCatePhotography-Kidd-WardOz20.png
Cafepress Items - http://www.cafepress.com/cherubs/7879344

Photo by MCate Photography

Download Full Size Poster - http://www.savethecherubs.org/SaveTheCherubs-MarthaCatePhotography-Kidd-WardOz20.jpg
Cafepress Items - http://www.cafepress.com/cherubs/7879502

Photo by MCate Photography

Download Full Size Poster - http://www.savethecherubs.org/SaveTheCherubs-MarthaCatePhotography-Kidd-WardOz17.jpg

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Photo by MCate Photography

Download Full Size Poster - http://www.savethecherubs.org/SaveTheCherubs-MarthaCatePhotography-Kidd-WardOz15.jpg
Cafepress Items - http://www.cafepress.com/cherubs/7879504

Photo by MCate Photography

Download Full Size Poster - http://www.savethecherubs.org/SaveTheCherubs-MarthaCatePhotography-Kidd-WardOz14.jpg
Cafepress Items - http://www.cafepress.com/cherubs/7879551

Photo by Flippen Photography

Download Full Size Poster - http://www.savethecherubs.org/Savethecherubs-FlippinPhotography-KiddWard-Oz.png
Cafepress Items - http://www.cafepress.com/cherubs/7879481

Photo by MCate Photography

Download Full Size Poster - http://www.savethecherubs.org/SaveTheCherubs-MarthaCatePhotography-Kidd-WardOz03.jpg
Cafepress Items - http://www.cafepress.com/cherubs/7801407

Photo by MCate Photography

Download Full Size Poster - http://www.savethecherubs.org/SaveTheCherubs-MarthaCatePhotography-Kidd-WardOz04.jpg
Cafepress Items - http://www.cafepress.com/cherubs/7801406

Photo by MCate Photography

Download Full Size Poster - http://www.savethecherubs.org/SaveTheCherubs-MarthaCatePhotography-Kidd-WardOz07.jpg
Cafepress Items - http://www.cafepress.com/cherubs/7782097

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Photo by MCate Photography

Download Full Size Poster - http://www.savethecherubs.org/SaveTheCherubs-MarthaCatePhotography-Kidd-WardOz01.jpg SaveTheCherubs-MarthaCatePhotography-Kidd-WardOz01.jpg
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Daily CDH Vote Reminder - Meet Cherub Osmund "Oz" Wyatt Kidd-Ward

2011-07-21T11:23:00.001-04:00

Please Vote Today - This is your daily vote reminder to help babies born with Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia!

CHERUBS is participating the Vivint Gives Back Contest on Facebook and we need your votes! How to vote:

1. Go to http://www.facebook.com/VivintHome and "Like" Vivint

2. Go to http://www.voteforcdh.org/ and click the Vote button

3. Log in through Facebook and Vote!

4. Repeat #2 and #3 daily through August 27, 2011

Contest Update - We gotten over 55,000 votes so far!!!! WTG, everyone! Starting at 2:00 pm EST TODAY - For the next 48 hours you can donate directly on the on voting page and Vivint Gives Back will match individual donations up to $50 each and total donations up to $2500 per charity so we have a change to raise $5000! Every single dollar helps and is tax-deductible! http://www.voteforcdh.org/

Contest Voter Tip Of The Day - Please donate today when you vote! Even $1 will help as Vivint Gives Back is DOUBLING donations! Thank you Vivint! http://www.voteforcdh.org/

Did You Know? - There is no official CDH Awareness Day observed by all families, groups and researchers in all countries but people in in 38 countries unofficially celebrate April 19th. This is the day the trademark on "Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia Awareness" was removed and CDH Awareness was given back to the families. Many families hold events on this day and CHERUBS holds a parade to raise more awareness.

Meet Our Cherubs! - March 1, 2010 our son, Osmund "Oz" was diagnosed with Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia (CDH), and a possible heart condition at our 19 week ultrasound. Over the next 20.5 weeks, we were rigorously monitored - a variety of specialists, ECHOs, MRI, numerous ultrasounds and non-stress tests. Thankfully, we lived 3 miles from Wake Forest University Comprehensive Care Center and Brenner Children's Hospital that was able to handle a high-risk CDH infant, and perform the corrective surgeries he would require. During those weeks, we hoped and prayed for Oz to beat the statistics, we planned and prepared for him to come home. Giving up on our son was never an option for us.

He was born July 21, 2010 at 9:05 am via C-section because he was breech. Oz weighed 7 lbs, 13.5 oz, and was 19.7 inches long. His heart was beating, but he was not very responsive. Our cardiologist came to the hospital to perform the ECHO herself, and found that what we had all prayed was a clinical effect of his CDH was in fact a congenital heart condition. His lungs, what little had been allowed to develop, because of his stomach, intestines, liver, etc...pushed into his chest cavity prevented it, had not developed into the tubes and air sacs needed for proper breathing. We were told the news parents should never have to hear: we would not be going home with our son, and he would not survive the day. Our world shattered, and all we wanted to do was be with Oz and enjoy every millisecond that we would have with him.

Our staff that day was an amazing, compassionate group of medical professionals, who made sure that Oz's time with us was maximized, and his pain minimal. He was held by his mom and dad for most of the 10 wonderful hours he graced this world after his birth. We had many visitors rush to the hospital to meet him, including two very special CHERUBS volunteers. We were so blessed to have the prayers and support of 1,000s of CDH families those days and hours leading up to his birth, and their love, understanding and support after we came home, heart-broken, and had to lay our son to rest.

We vote every day for these miracle children, because they are all amazing fighters. We vote everyday to show our solidarity and support of this wonderful, loving community as a way to give back to them.

- Written by Oz's parents, Kaendrah Kidd and Chris Ward

Thank you all for your support and your votes to help CDH babies!

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Vote for CHERUBS at http://www.voteforcdh.org

Contest Info, Fliers, Graphics, etc at http://www.voteforcherubs.org/

Facebook CDH Voting Group at https://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_123312954385123&ap=1

Subscribe to Daily Vote Reminders - dailyvote-subscribe@voteforcherubs.org

Unubscribe to Daily Vote Reminders - dailyvote-unsubscribe@voteforcherubs.org

Feel free to forward this to family and friends!

CHERUBS - The Association of Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia Research, Awareness and Support

Public 501(c)III non-profit organization serving over 3000 CDH families in 38 countries. Searching for the cause, prevention and best treatments of CDH since 1995.

http://www.cdhsupport.org/
http://www.cdhresearch.org/
http://cdhsupport.blogspot.com/
http://www.cdhconference.org/

Phone - 919-610-0129 E-mail - info@cdhsupport.org

Mailing Address - 3650 Rogers Rd #290, Wake Forest, NC 27587, USA

photo by MCate Photography

Daily CDH Vote Reminder - Meet Cherub Braden Holt

2011-07-19T14:51:00.000-04:00

Please Vote Today - This is your daily vote reminder to help babies born with Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia!

CHERUBS is participating the Vivint Gives Back Contest on Facebook and we need your votes! How to vote:

1. Go to http://www.facebook.com/VivintHome and "Like" Vivint

2. Go to http://www.voteforcdh.org/ and click the Vote button

3. Log in through Facebook and Vote!

4. Repeat #2 and #3 daily through August 27, 2011

Contest Update - Only 5 weeks left in the contest! It's not too late to start voting daily. Every vote counts!

Contest Voter Tip Of The Day - Order free "Vote for CDH" t-shirts and other items at Vistaprint. Details posted on http://www.voteforcherubs.org/

Did You Know? - Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia is a birth defect that affects each baby differently. Some babies have small holes in their diaphragms or no hole at all, just very loose muscle. Some babies have large holes or no diaphragm muscle at all. The organs that migrate into the baby's chest cavity varies. Some babies have just a little stomach above their diaphragm while overs can have stomach, liver, intestines and other organs migrated. The amount of organs in the chest cavity controls the impairement of lung growth.

Meet Our Cherubs! - This is Braden and his big sister Brooke. They are the worst of enemies and the best of friends. Braden was born with an undiagnosed congenital diaphragmatic hernia on March 13, 2008. Within an hour of his birth I was told he would require surgery. He was taken from me and flown to CHOP where he received great care. He had his repair surgery the day after his birth and was home twelve days later. Braden's journey continues today as he struggles with weight gain and asthma like symptoms. Please vote so that all mothers can have the benefit of knowing what they are facing before their child arrives. CDH babies need special attention at the precise moment of their birth!

- written by Braden's mom, Karla Holt

Thank you all for your support and your votes to help CDH babies!

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Vote for CHERUBS at http://www.voteforcdh.org

Contest Info, Fliers, Graphics, etc at http://www.voteforcherubs.org/

Facebook CDH Voting Group at https://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_123312954385123&ap=1

Subscribe to Daily Vote Reminders - dailyvote-subscribe@voteforcherubs.org

Unubscribe to Daily Vote Reminders - dailyvote-unsubscribe@voteforcherubs.org

Feel free to forward this to family and friends!

Daily CDH Vote Reminder - Meet Cherub Faith Emily Marshall-Elkins

2011-07-18T11:18:00.001-04:00

Please Vote Today - This is your daily vote reminder to help babies born with Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia!

CHERUBS is participating the Vivint Gives Back Contest on Facebook and we need your votes! How to vote:

1. Go to http://www.facebook.com/VivintHome and "Like" Vivint

2. Go to http://www.voteforcdh.org/ and click the Vote button

3. Log in through Facebook and Vote!

4. Repeat #2 and #3 daily through August 27, 2011

Contest Update - We have collected over 50,000 votes and we have several celebrities following Charlie Sheen's lead and helping us on Twitter including Paris Hilton, Snookie, Kathy Hilton, Joan Rivers and more. Yeah for CDH Awareness and votes for our babies!!!!!

Contest Voter Tip Of The Day - Use window chalk on your car windows to ask for votes and raise CDH awareness everywhere you go!

Did You Know? - CHERUBS holds an international conference for CDH families and researchers every year. It's the world's first and largest CDH conference and it has inspired the set up of many other conferences and meetings for CDH groups as well as other causes. We love leading the way to inspire others to help children!

Meet Our Cherubs! - Meet Faith Emily Marshall-Elkins she was born on the 26/5/2010 with a left sided CDH. After a traumatic start into this world and ten hours off fighting for her life cdh sent her to the angels at ten hours old in her mommys arms. Please just take the time to vote once everyday to help save babies like my daughter. As a mother who has lost a child I dont wont this happening again please help us help them. Thank you.

- Written by Faith's mum, Cassandra

Thank you all for your support and your votes to help CDH babies!

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Vote for CHERUBS at http://www.voteforcdh.org

Contest Info, Fliers, Graphics, etc at http://www.voteforcherubs.org/

Facebook CDH Voting Group at https://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_123312954385123&ap=1

Subscribe to Daily Vote Reminders - dailyvote-subscribe@voteforcherubs.org

Unubscribe to Daily Vote Reminders - dailyvote-unsubscribe@voteforcherubs.org

Feel free to forward this to family and friends!

Daily CDH Vote Reminder - Meet Cherub Ericka Landers

2011-07-14T11:51:00.001-04:00

Please Vote Today - This is your daily vote reminder to help babies born with Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia!

CHERUBS is participating the Vivint Gives Back Contest on Facebook and we need your votes! How to vote:

1. Go to http://www.facebook.com/VivintHome and "Like" Vivint

2. Go to http://www.voteforcdh.org/ and click the Vote button

3. Log in through Facebook and Vote!

4. Repeat #2 and #3 daily through August 27, 2011

Contest Update - Still in 3rd place but actor Charlie Sheen's tweets have raised astronomical awareness! He's posting to 4 million Twitter followers and over 22,000 new sites have picked up the story! Keep voting!!!

Contest Voter Tip Of The Day - ASK people to vote! Don't assume they are because they see you voting. Ask them directly and tell them why it's important to vote.

Did You Know? - Many CDH babies require artificial materials to repair the hole in their diaphragms. Gore-Tex is the most commonly used material. This is the same material used to make coats and shoes by the famous maker.

Meet Our Cherubs! - Ericka's prognosis started out very well. While I was still pregnant, we were told she looked fantastic! She was a healthy size, her heart was functioning well, her lungs looked good-considering, all positives when dealing with CDH. Her expected discharge would be in two to three weeks. However, when she was born full-term on March 18th, 2009, everything started falling down around me and her daddy. They whisked her away and intubated her. They inserted IVs, a ventilator, a nitric oxide machine, taped a monitor to her toe, and placed sensors all over her chest and stomach that looked like ducks. How comforting, cute little ducks... We watched her struggle every day, not knowing if any day would be the last we'd get to be with her. Her surgery was pushed back every day. At 11 days old, she was transferred from Providence where she was born to Mass General Hospital in Boston for the use of ECMO-something we were initially told would most likely be unnecessary. Two days later, Ericka had her surgery, ECMO-free! The amazing surgeon who performed her repair said he was optimistic about her recovery.

Two days after her surgery, she had a rough night and the NICU's only option at that point was ECMO. She was successfully places on venous venous ECMO but just a few days later, she crashed. Her surgeon told me they would need to switch her to venous arterial ECMO. My heart sank because I knew, as far as treatment went, if this didn't save her, nothing would. She spent the next 15 days on ECMO. Halfway through, we had a family meeting and we were told "We're gonna give Ericka two more weeks on the circuit and that's all we have left.." FINALLY, she came off it six days after that and never looked back! The rest of her recovery was like a gentle wave rolling in at low tide. She came off the ventilator and never went back, she didn't need a C-PAP machine, she took her own nasal cannula out and never used it again! After she had a g-tube placed at two and a half months, she spent the next three weeks getting used to increased feeds and came home! She came home on seven medications and with a feeding tube but the medications slowly decreased to four. And the last four were gone when the feeding tube was gone, 14 months after she was born.
Since all of this, she has had no problems. She's never stayed overnight in the hospital, she's never been sick with anything worse than a stomach bug. Her lungs looked great at last check and she's ahead of all expectations! We had been told that she'd most likely be developmentally behind but that is nowhere near the truth! She's smart. funny, happy, healthy, and amazingly beautiful! She's my little miracle and she is why I became involved with CHERUBS. I vote for her. I vote for CHERUBS. I vote for the survivors and the angels. They're all very special to me! But I will be eternally grateful that my little girl is here with me. Please vote so ALL CDH families can be just as lucky someday and not have to say goodbye, http://www.voteforcdh.org/.

Thank you all for your support and your votes to help CDH babies!

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Vote for CHERUBS at http://www.voteforcdh.org

Contest Info, Fliers, Graphics, etc at http://www.voteforcherubs.org/

Facebook CDH Voting Group at https://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_123312954385123&ap=1

Subscribe to Daily Vote Reminders - dailyvote-subscribe@voteforcherubs.org

Unubscribe to Daily Vote Reminders - dailyvote-unsubscribe@voteforcherubs.org

Feel free to forward this to family and friends!

PRESS RELEASE: Charlie Sheen Takes On Twitter Challenge By Grieving Mom To Help Sick Babies

2011-07-13T17:00:00.000-04:00

CONTACT:

Dawn Williamson
dawn.williamson@cdhsupport.org
919.610.0129

Charlie Sheen Takes On Twitter Challenge By Grieving Mom To Help Sick Babies

The mysterious birth defect, Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia, harms 1600 babies each year in the U.S. and takes the lives of 800 of these children. Actor Charlie Sheen has stepped in, vowing to help these children by using his social media celebrity to acquire over 25,000 votes in an on-line contest for $250,000.

Raleigh, NC – July 13, 2011 started out like most days for Dawn Williamson. She grabbed a cup of coffee, sat down in front to the computer and started her work for local charity, CHERUBS. Trying to gather votes to win a contest for $250,000, she’s been contacting people on Facebook and Twitter and asking them to vote.

This morning however was different when she noticed actor Charlie Sheen’s tweets popped up on her screen and she took a chance to tweet to him “@charliesheen kind celeb who will take the challenge to get sick babies 25k votes in 1 month for $250k for research? http://www.voteforcherubs.org”

Her efforts paid off and Mr. Sheen accepted the challenge. Tweeting and retweeting for the charity this morning, Mr. Sheen has made it a personal quest to help CHERUBS; “I'm down with Dawn!! @ncdawn RT @cherubs Help critically ill babies with CDH. Take Charlie's challenge to vote! http://bit.ly/odjNUy”

Currently at 3rd place, CHERUBS is a regional finalist in the 2011 Vivint Gives Back Project, a national online campaign that will award $250,000 to the winning non-profit organization, and $100,000 to five regional charities throughout the United States and Canada. Vivint, one of the largest home automation companies in North America, is hosting the second annual campaign, which lets voters nominate, endorse and donate to their favorite local causes.

For the “little charity that could” with an average annual budget of just $35,000, winning $250,000 will go a long way. “50% of money won will go to genetic research of CDH through Mass General’s CDH Research Study. The other 50% will go family support services such as care packages, financial help for families in the hospital and more” says Williamson. Information about the contest and where funds will go can be found at http://www.voteforcherubs.org/

Mrs. Williamson is the Founder and President of CHERUBS, created after the birth of her son, Shane, who was born with CDH. Shane passed away in 1999, at the age of 6 years old. “I’ve been working with other families to stop CDH since 1995 and we are very close to finding the cause of this horrible birth defect. Mr. Sheen’s assistance in raising awareness and research funds could really give us the push we need to be able to save the lives of these children” says Williamson.

Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia (CDH) is a birth defect that occurs when the diaphragm fails to fully form, allowing the organs to enter the chest cavity and preventing lung growth. Babies born with CDH endure surgeries and long hospitalizations; 50% of babies born with CDH do not survive. CDH affects 1600 babies every year in the United States. The cause is not known and though CDH is as common as Spina Bifida and Cystic Fibrosis, the public is grossly unaware of the defect's existence and the effect on babies.

Voting continues until August 27th. Vote on-line at http://www.voteforcherubs.org/

###

About CHERUBS

CHERUBS is a 501- (c)3 organization located in North Carolina. CHERUBS serves families of children and adults born with Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia (CDH) through research, awareness and support services free to those affected. Founded in 1995, CHERUBS is the world’s first and largest non-profit for Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia.

About Charlie Sheen

Charlie Sheen is an award winning actor best known for his roles on televisions “Two and a Half Men” and in movies “Red Dawn”, “Wall Street”, “Platoon”, “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” and the “Hot Shots” movie series. Mr. Sheen is currently one of the world’s most publicized celebrities and social media frontrunners.

About Vivint Gives Back

The Vivint Gives Back Project is a program of Vivint’s philanthropic initiative, Vivint Gives Back, which was created to focus the efforts of the employees at Vivint on banding together to alleviate hardship and restore hope for people in need. Vivint employees have the opportunity to contribute time and resources to service projects ranging from clean-up efforts in the aftermath of the Joplin, Missouri tornado, to providing meals at a Ronald McDonald House and adopting a local elementary school where our employees mentor and tutor students at risk in a long term relationship.

About Vivint

Vivint, Inc. is one of the largest home automation companies in North America. Operating throughout the United States and Canada, the company retains more than 5,000 employees and services close to 500,000 customers. With award-winning customer service and smart technology, Vivint is dedicated to enhancing security, increasing energy efficiency, and creating simple, affordable home automation solutions for its customers. For more information, visit http://www.vivint.com./

Daily CDH Vote Reminder - Meet Cherub Flynn Leigh-Baker

2011-07-13T11:46:00.001-04:00

Please Vote Today - This is your daily vote reminder to help babies born with Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia!

CHERUBS is participating the Vivint Gives Back Contest on Facebook and we need your votes! How to vote:

1. Go to http://www.facebook.com/VivintHome and "Like" Vivint

2. Go to http://www.voteforcdh.org/ and click the Vote button

3. Log in through Facebook and Vote!

4. Repeat #2 and #3 daily through August 27, 2011

Contest Update - CHERUBS is thrilled to have actor Charlie Sheen now on board to help us with votes! He's pledged to get his 4,000,000 to give us at least 25,000 votes on Twitter. The CDH Awareness alone with this is astronomical! http://www.twitter.com/charliesheen

Contest Voter Tip Of The Day - Tweet with Charlie and gather votes for the babies! Share your stories and photos!

Did You Know? - CDH is not rare. It happens as often as Cystic Fibrosis and Spina Bifida. 1600 families are struck by CDH each year in the United States. Do you know the cause? No one does. Yet.

Meet Our Cherubs! - This is Flynn Leigh-Baker. CHERUBS may have helped save his life. When we went to our 20-week ultrasound we went in with the expectation of hearing "boy" or "girl" not "his heart looks pushed over we're sending you for an MRI." We were shocked once we learned the diagnosis of CDH. We had never heard of it and we already had a healthy 2 year old daughter so we just assumed we would have a healthy baby. Not only did our baby have CDH but it was a right-sided one which is rarer and it was also very severe. Our initial doctor pointed us in the direction of the balloon tracheal occlusion procedure being done in San Francisco but I had already done some research of my own. I had found the CHERUBS website and a link on their page learned of a new procedure being tried in St.Louis that used a gel instead of a balloon to block the trachea and improve lung growth. This idea seemed better since it was far closer, there wouldn't have to be another fetal surgery to remove the balloon, and I could drive the 6 hour drive to go meet with the wonderful people of the Fetal Care Institute. We went into the fetal surgery knowing there weren't many options for us but hoping that some lung growth would give Flynn the edge in the battle with CDH. The gel procedure worked wonderfully and Flynn came out without needing ECMO. He had his CDH surgery 8 days after he was born and came through with a big gortex patch but stable. He has had the usual feeding problems and reflux that seem to go hand in hand with CDH and eventually needed a g-tube to help us get him the milk he needs to grow. But happily after a 7 week stay in the NICU we were able to bring our miracle home.So far Flynn is the first and only survivor of CDH having done the gel occlusion. I can only hope that the future holds more survivors and with research we can steadily decrease the mortality rate of CDH from 50% to 30% to 10% to 0!

- written by Flynn's mom, Bonnie Leigh

Thank you all for your support and your votes to help CDH babies!

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Vote for CHERUBS at http://www.voteforcdh.org

Contest Info, Fliers, Graphics, etc at http://www.voteforcherubs.org/

Facebook CDH Voting Group at https://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_123312954385123&ap=1

Subscribe to Daily Vote Reminders - dailyvote-subscribe@voteforcherubs.org

Unubscribe to Daily Vote Reminders - dailyvote-unsubscribe@voteforcherubs.org

Feel free to forward this to family and friends!

Daily CDH Vote Reminder - Meet Cherub Joshua Angel Echelbarger

2011-07-12T12:07:00.001-04:00

Please Vote Today - This is your daily vote reminder to help babies born with Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia!

CHERUBS is participating the Vivint Gives Back Contest on Facebook and we need your votes! How to vote:

1. Go to http://www.facebook.com/VivintHome and "Like" Vivint

2. Go to http://www.voteforcdh.org/ and click the Vote button

3. Log in through Facebook and Vote!

4. Repeat #2 and #3 daily through August 27, 2011

Contest Update - Holding steady! WTG everyone!!!!

Contest Voter Tip Of The Day - Though this is a Facebook contest, don't be afraid to use other outlets to ask for votes such as e-mail, text messaging, Myspace, Twitter, chatrooms, etc.

Did You Know? - The official CDH Awareness Ribbon is baby blue, pink and pale yellow with clouds. It was voted by members of several CDH charities, is recognized in 38 countries, in all 50 states and by members of the U.S. Senate. It is trademark and copyright free, owned by no one and can be used by anyone who wants to raise Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia Awareness! http://www.cdhribbon.org/

Meet Our Cherubs! - My third baby was diagnosed with Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia, at 20 weeks gestation. Joshua not only had CDH, but he also had heart problems (CHD). As a result of heart failure, he was retaining fluid. At 29 weeks, his fluid had increased rapidly - It had reached his chest cavity and need to be delivered as soon as possible. Joshua Angel was born on March 30th, 2010, weighing 3 lbs 6 oz. That moment was a very special moment that I will FOREVER cherish. After Joshua's birth, he had two cardiac arrests, persistent hypoxia, pneumothorax on his right lung, and Pulmonary Hypertension. After a long night of fighting CDH, he passed away at 12 hours old in daddy's arms. He has forever touched our lives, and tough us that we must always be STRONG and COURAGEOUS just as he was.

- written by Joshua's mom, Molly Echelbarger

Thank you all for your support and your votes to help CDH babies!

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Vote for CHERUBS at http://www.voteforcdh.org

Contest Info, Fliers, Graphics, etc at http://www.voteforcherubs.org/

Facebook CDH Voting Group at https://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_123312954385123&ap=1

Subscribe to Daily Vote Reminders - dailyvote-subscribe@voteforcherubs.org

Unubscribe to Daily Vote Reminders - dailyvote-unsubscribe@voteforcherubs.org

Feel free to forward this to family and friends!

Save the Cherubs Posters - Douglas Collins

2011-07-11T14:14:00.002-04:00

Photos created by the Collins family while expecting cherub Douglas, a model for our Save the Cherubs Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia Awareness campaign.

Photo by Tom Nguyen

Download Full Size Poster - http://www.savethecherubs.org/SavetheCherubs-NguyenTom-CollinsDouglas03.jpg

Cafepress Items - http://www.cafepress.com/cherubs/7883452

Photo by Tom Nguyen

Download Full Size Poster - http://www.savethecherubs.org/SavetheCherubs-NguyenTom-CollinsDouglas02.jpg

Cafepress Items - http://www.cafepress.com/cherubs/7883519

Photo by Tom Nguyen

Download Full Size Poster - http://www.savethecherubs.org/SavetheCherubs-NguyenTom-CollinsDouglas01.jpg

Cafepress Items - http://www.cafepress.com/cherubs/7883521

Daily CDH Vote Reminder - Meet Cherub Ava Elaine Dickerson

2011-07-11T13:02:00.002-04:00

Please Vote Today - This is your daily vote reminder to help babies born with Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia!

CHERUBS is participating the Vivint Gives Back Contest on Facebook and we need your votes! How to vote:

1. Go to http://www.facebook.com/VivintHome and "Like" Vivint

2. Go to http://www.voteforcdh.org/ and click the Vote button

3. Log in through Facebook and Vote!

4. Repeat #2 and #3 daily through August 27, 2011

Contest Update - Holding in 3rd with over 40,000 votes! Only 6 weeks left to win $250,000 for CDH babies!

Contest Voter Tip Of The Day - Do you have a blog or carepage? Share information about the contest and ask your followers to vote!

Did You Know? - CDH can occur alone or with other birth defects. In a small percentage of cases, CDH occurs with a syndrome such as Fryn's, Trisomy 18 or others. We encourage all CDH families to seek genetic counseling.

Meet Our Cherubs! - Ava Elaine was diagnosed with CDH two weeks before birth. Her valiant fight for life began on 10/22/10 at Children's in Dallas, TX. Ava went on ECMO on day 2 and a successful had repair surgery on day 7 after overcoming a brain hemorrhage and blood clot. She Sweet Ava drew a close-knit family even closer, made everyone who knew her want to hold their children tighter and captured the hearts of many. Ava earned her wings on the 47th day as heaven welcomed a beautiful angel.

"Ava was endowed with a unique grace that those who knew her could feel. Perhaps she was a vehicle for a greater force or maybe she possessed a larger-than-life charisma. Ava made me want to be a better doctor, to push beyond the limits of my usual practice, to find new solutions to intractable problems. She made me want to make others care deeply for her, too. She brought a team closer together than ever in our experience at Children's. Surgeons, pediatricians, ECMO specialists, nurses, and respiratory therapists worked hand in glove to try to save Ava. She was the center of our universe, we mere planets with a skill or two." ~ Dr. Thomas, Children's Medical Center.

Fly High and Breathe Easy, Sweet Ava.

- written by Ava's mom, Jennifer Rohde Dickerson

Thank you all for your support and your votes to help CDH babies!

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Vote for CHERUBS at http://www.voteforcdh.org

Contest Info, Fliers, Graphics, etc at http://www.voteforcherubs.org/

Facebook CDH Voting Group at https://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_123312954385123&ap=1

Subscribe to Daily Vote Reminders - dailyvote-subscribe@voteforcherubs.org

Unubscribe to Daily Vote Reminders - dailyvote-unsubscribe@voteforcherubs.org

Feel free to forward this to family and friends!

Daily CDH Vote Reminder - Meet Cherub Alfie John Black

2011-07-09T10:05:00.001-04:00

Please Vote Today - This is your daily vote reminder to help babies born with Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia!

CHERUBS is participating the Vivint Gives Back Contest on Facebook and we need your votes! How to vote:

1. Go to http://www.facebook.com/VivintHome and "Like" Vivint

2. Go to http://www.voteforcdh.org/ and click the Vote button

3. Log in through Facebook and Vote!

4. Repeat #2 and #3 daily through August 27, 2011

Contest Update - Over 1500 people are voting every day for our babies! We are raising CDH Awareness on an astronomical level on Facebook thanks to the Vivint Gives Back contest!

Contest Voter Tip Of The Day - Share your cherub's story and photo, tell people why CDH research is important to you. Ask people directly to vote. Spread the word about CDH and the contest!

Did You Know? - Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia can strike any family. It has hurt babies of all races and religions, in all countries around the world. CDH has struck the poor and uneducated, but has also struck families of doctors, lawyers and even a U.S. Senator. CDH does not discriminate. The cause is unknown but geneticists are so very close to finding out why CDH happens. Please vote and please support CDH research! If your family hasn't been struck by CDH yet, someday it may be!

Meet Our Cherubs! - Alfie was diagnosed at his 21 week scan with LCDH , he had a great out look and all the doctors were very pleased with his progress .

Alfie was born on the 15th of March 2011, his lungs were severely smaller than anticipated , but he fought and at 9 days old he had his operation to patch his diaphragm, the whole left side of his diaphragm was missing !

He continued to fight but on the 28th of March 2011 Alfie was too tired to fight and sadly grew his wings in his Mummy and Daddy's arms, this was due to severe pulmonary hypertension .

CDH has broke mine and my families hearts! It turn Alfies big sister Nicole's (8) world upside down!

It has been 3 months since my beautiful baby boy grew his wings, but in this short time the pain gets worse the longing to hold him just one last time or to say sorry that i could not save him!

At CHERUBS we are not a statistics we are part of a worldwide community a family filled with love and support !

Please vote, to help CHERUBS help other families like us !

- Written by Donna Warchol

Thank you all for your support and your votes to help CDH babies!

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Vote for CHERUBS at http://www.voteforcdh.org

Contest Info, Fliers, Graphics, etc at http://www.voteforcherubs.org/

Facebook CDH Voting Group at https://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_123312954385123&ap=1

Subscribe to Daily Vote Reminders - dailyvote-subscribe@voteforcherubs.org

Unubscribe to Daily Vote Reminders - dailyvote-unsubscribe@voteforcherubs.org

Feel free to forward this to family and friends!

CHERUBS in the Altantic City Marathon

2011-07-08T19:23:00.000-04:00

We are pleased to announce that CHERUBS will be raising Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia Awareness in the Atlantic City Marathon! Working with the family of Brielle Santos and the Jewish Community Center of Atlantic County, we will be raising funds and awareness through participates and supporters.

To support CDH, use the code CHERUBS when they register for the race on Active.com.

Walking in the Marathon? Click here to order CDH Awareness Gear!

cherub Brielle Santo

We look forward to seeing you there!

Save the Cherubs Posters - Jim Beau Reinhardt

2011-07-08T17:08:00.001-04:00

Meet CDH Survivor Jim Beau Reinhardt!!! A model for our Save the Cherubs Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia Awareness campaign!

Photo by Samantha Alday

Download Full Size Poster - http://www.savethecherubs.org/SaveTheCherubs-AldaySamantha-ReinhardtJimBeau01.jpg

Cafepress Items - http://www.cafepress.com/cherubs/7876850

Photo by Samantha Alday

Download Full Size Poster - http://www.savethecherubs.org/SaveTheCherubs-AldaySamantha-ReinhardtJimBeau02.jpg

Cafepress Items - http://www.cafepress.com/cherubs/7876852

Photo by Samantha Alday

Download Full Size Poster - http://www.savethecherubs.org/SaveTheCherubs-AldaySamantha-ReinhardtJimBeau04.jpg

Cafepress Items - http://www.cafepress.com/cherubs/7876856

Photo by Samantha Alday

Download Full Size Poster - http://www.savethecherubs.org/SaveTheCherubs-AldaySamantha-ReinhardtJimBeau01.png

Cafepress Items - http://www.cafepress.com/cherubs/7782461

Photo by Dawn Williamson
Download Full Size Poster - http://www.savethecherubs.org/SaveTheCherubs-WilliamsonDawn-2011conference01.png
Cafepress Items - http://www.cafepress.com/cherubs/7879623

Photo by Dawn Williamson

Download Full Size Poster - http://www.savethecherubs.org/SaveTheCherubs-WilliamsonDawn-2011conference02.png

Cafepress Items - http://www.cafepress.com/cherubs/7879732

Photo by Dawn Williamson
Download Full Size Poster - http://www.savethecherubs.org/SaveTheCherubs-WilliamsonDawn-2011conference03.png
Cafepress Items - http://www.cafepress.com/cherubs/7879746

Photo by Dawn Williamson
Download Full Size Poster - http://www.savethecherubs.org/SaveTheCherubs-WilliamsonDawn-ReinhardtJimBeau01.png
Cafepress Items - http://www.cafepress.com/cherubs/7879795

Photo by Dawn Williamson
Download Full Size Poster - http://www.savethecherubs.org/SaveTheCherubs-WilliamsonDawn-ReinhardtJimBeau02.png
Cafepress Items - http://www.cafepress.com/cherubs/7879796

Photo by Dawn Williamson
Download Full Size Poster - http://www.savethecherubs.org/SaveTheCherubs-WilliamsonDawn-ReinhardtJimBeau04.png
Cafepress Items - http://www.cafepress.com/cherubs/7879762

Daily CDH Vote Reminder - Meet Cherub Jim Beau Reinhardt

2011-07-08T13:35:00.002-04:00

Please Vote Today - This is your daily vote reminder to help babies born with Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia!

CHERUBS is participating the Vivint Gives Back Contest on Facebook and we need your votes! How to vote:

1. Go to http://www.facebook.com/VivintHome and "Like" Vivint

2. Go to http://www.voteforcdh.org/ and click the Vote button

3. Log in through Facebook and Vote!

4. Repeat #2 and #3 daily through August 27, 2011

Contest Update - We are still in 3rd place, having collected over 37,000 votes! Way to go, everyone!!!! Let's keep up the good work for the babies!

Contest Voter Tip Of The Day - Twitter is a great tool to raise CDH Awareness and ask followers to vote. Use #helpcdhbabies to bring more attention to our cause.

Did You Know? - Since Jan. 1st, 2000, over 500,000 babies have been born with CDH. There have been enough CDH babies born to replace the population of Tucson, AZ. However, only half those babies survive, so it's more like the population of Ft. Wayne, IN.

Meet Our Cherubs! - Jim Beau was born November 30, 2009 at Shands Hospital at the University of Florida. His intestines, spleen and a kidney were in his chest and he had only 10% of his diaphragm. At a week old, Jim Beau underwent surgery to repair his diaphragm and spent 43 days in the NICU. Now he is a happy 18 month old! We had never heard of CDH before Jim Beau was diagnosed at the 34 week point in the pregnancy. We are so thankful to CHERUBS for working so hard to raise awareness of this birth defect.

- written by Jim Beau's mother, Mary Abigail Reinhardt

Thank you all for your support and your votes to help CDH babies!

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Vote for CHERUBS at http://www.voteforcdh.org

Contest Info, Fliers, Graphics, etc at http://www.voteforcherubs.org/

Facebook CDH Voting Group at https://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_123312954385123&ap=1

Subscribe to Daily Vote Reminders - dailyvote-subscribe@voteforcherubs.org

Unubscribe to Daily Vote Reminders - dailyvote-unsubscribe@voteforcherubs.org

Feel free to forward this to family and friends!

Submit your cherub to be featured by e-mailing his/her name, photo, date(s) and a short paragraph to membership@cdhsupport.org. By submitting, you give CHERUBS permission to use this data on our site, blogs, newsletters, videos, etc to raise CDH Awareness.

CHERUBS - The Association of Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia Research, Awareness and Support

Public 501(c)III non-profit organization serving over 3000 CDH families in 38 countries. Searching for the cause, prevention and best treatments of CDH since 1995. http://www.cdhsupport.org/
http://www.cdhresearch.org/
http://cdhsupport.blogspot.com/
http://www.cdhconference.org/

Phone - 919-610-0129 E-mail - info@cdhsupport.org
Mailing Address - 3650 Rogers Rd #290, Wake Forest, NC 27587, USA

Daily CDH Vote Reminder - Meet Cherub Lucas James Cartner

2011-07-07T10:28:00.001-04:00

Please Vote Today - This is your daily vote reminder to help babies born with Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia!

CHERUBS is participating the Vivint Gives Back Contest on Facebook and we need your votes! How to vote:

1. Go to http://www.facebook.com/VivintHome and "Like" Vivint

2. Go to http://www.voteforcdh.org/ and click the Vote button

3. Log in through Facebook and Vote!

4. Repeat #2 and #3 daily through August 27, 2011

Contest Update - We're holding stead in 3rd place but got a vote boost from several celebrities including LeeAnn Rimes, Milla Jovovich, Kathy Ireland, Lil Niqo, Louis VanAmstel and more!

Contest Voter Tip Of The Day - Make a field trip with the kids this summer for a day by printing off some fliers, grabbing a pair of wings and going to door-to-door in your neighborhood raising awareness and asking for votes. Who can say no to a child in a pair of wings raising awareness and votes for cherubs???

Did You Know? - If CHERUBS wins 1st place of $250,000; $145,000 will go towards CDH Research:

* $125,000 for collaberative research with Massachusetts General to pay for lab kits for over 100 families for genetic research into CDH
* $10,000 for programming for the long term CDH Research study database to review patient histories and similarities
* $10,000 to medical conferences for families and researchers, including a large joint conference in 2013

Meet Our Cherubs! - Meet Lucas James Cartner, he was 6 days old in this photo after just having his left sided CDH repair.Meet Lucas James Cartner, he was 6 days old in this photo after just having his left sided CDH repair.

When we found out at my 5 month pregnancy scan no one we knew had heard of CDH, it was one step at a time and constant worry, would he survive the pregnancy,the birth,the operation.He is 4 years old now and has never looked back since leaving hospital.

Lucas had a hospital checkup last month and the consultant said Lucas was leading the way for CDH research as 20 years ago he would not have survived. We know we are one of the lucky 50% and need to raise awareness of CDH so more CDH babies like Lucas can survive.Support Cherubs and please vote.

- Written by Lucas' mom, Elizabeth Cartner

Thank you all for your support and your votes to help CDH babies!

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Vote for CHERUBS at http://www.voteforcdh.org

Contest Info, Fliers, Graphics, etc at http://www.voteforcherubs.org/

Facebook CDH Voting Group at https://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_123312954385123&ap=1

Subscribe to Daily Vote Reminders - dailyvote-subscribe@voteforcherubs.org

Unubscribe to Daily Vote Reminders - dailyvote-unsubscribe@voteforcherubs.org

Feel free to forward this to family and friends!

CHERUBS 2011 Volunteer Ceremony

2011-07-06T14:05:00.000-04:00

At our 2011 Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia Conference, we presented awards to our volunteers and fundraisers. Those not present at the ceremony will be receiving their certificates / awards in the mail.

We would like to congratulate the following (in alphabetical order):

2011 Volunteers of the Year:

Tara Hall
Tracy Meats
Barbara Wagner

Our May, 2010 - April, 2011 Volunteers:

Sarah Deskins-Baker
Ashley Barry
Steph Burton
Nicolle Colvin
Erin Fisher
Kara Gleeson
Freedom Green
Rebecca Falkinham
SanJuanita Fuentes
Tara Hall
Joshua Hensley
Kara Hess
Karla Holt
Brenda Johnson
Jessica Johnston
Rikke Jul
Shana Kelly
Tracy Landers
Melissa Larrison
Elizabeth Lopez
DeAnn McGilberry
Tracy Meats
Troy Miller
Elaine Moats
Shankari Murali
Karen Myers
Heidi Pehrson
Wendy Petty
Michelle Rogers
Cheryl Sandoval
Darlene Silverman
Brenda Slavin
Jaquetta Taborn
Jennifer Tenney
Barbara Wagner
Chris Weaver

2011 Top Fundraisers:

Aguirre Family
Nicolle Colvin
Sarah Anderson
Gene & Becky Hobbs
Rebecca Reyes-Falkinham
Kidd-Ward Family
Julie Tunnell
Barbara Wagner

Thank you all for all your hard work and dedication to our charity and to families of babies affected by Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia! Without you, CHERUBS and our services to CDH families would not be possible. Your determination and compassion have helped 1000's of families devastated by CDH and we are very appreciative for all you have done and continue to do in honor / memory of your own cherubs.

Would you like to join our wonderful team of volunteers? Learn more at http://www.cdhvolunteers.org

Daily CDH Vote Reminder - Meet Kylee Freedom Green

2011-07-06T12:37:00.001-04:00

Please Vote Today - This is your daily vote reminder to help babies born with Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia!

CHERUBS is participating the Vivint Gives Back Contest on Facebook and we need your votes! How to vote:

1. Go to http://www.facebook.com/VivintHome and "Like" Vivint

2. Go to http://www.voteforcdh.org/ and click the Vote button

3. Log in through Facebook and Vote!

4. Repeat #2 and #3 daily through August 27, 2011

Contest Update - We are holding steady in 3rd place but need to move up to 1st or 2nd for the money for the babies! Every vote counts!

Contest Voter Tip Of The Day - Send a text message through your phone to all your contacts, asking them to vote.

Did You Know? - Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia was highly featured in the media in the 1990's when in utero repair was being done on babies still inside the womb? This procedure is no longer offered but several others are now being practiced or researched to help babies before they are born.

Kylee Freedom Green

Meet Our Cherubs! - From the start, we were resolved to understand what we were facing. We met with surgeons, doctors, genetic therapists and nurses. Despite their prognosis, we took every step to give her the best chance. Like our daughter, we were fighters.Thank you all for your support and your votes to help CDH babies!

None of the hospitals in Austin, Texas were equipped with a Level III-C neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), so we could not deliver near home. Relocating closer to Houston, TX, we stayed with my husband’s parents.

She was born October 4th, 2000 at just 35 weeks via emergency C-section due to massive

Polyhydramnios. Kylee was delivered at Saint Luke’s Episcopal Hospital in Houston, Texas. The team of specialists allowed us the briefest glimpse of her before she was rushed to Texas Children’s NICU. Born with Left-Sided Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia, Kylee’s stomach (and part of the liver) was forced into the upper chest cavity. Her struggle was further complicated by several high risk conditions: AV canal defect, two-vessel cord, breech presentation, and Trisomy-18. Our sweet pea fought for 14 hours and then went on to be our angel.

We are proud of the life Kylee fought for. She continues to influence our family in all things. Wee proud of ourselves because we didn’t sit idly or passively no matter how inevitable the worst may have been.

Kylee now has a little brother Trey (age 8) and three sisters: Skyla (7), Chloe (5), and Elodie (2).

Over the years I have heard them all tell stories about their “big” sister Kylee. Trey talks about one day building a time machine. He will take all the kids to the past so he can fix Kylee and they can all play. The girls, Skyla and Chloe, call her their special tooth-fairy angel. It all makes me smile.

Kylee taught us how precious life is, no matter how brief. Our volunteer work with CHERUBS re-affirms that lesson every day. For 10 years now, I have been a volunteer for CHERUBS. Through CHERUBS, we have been honored to work with other families and friends across the country.

Thank you to all of my CDH families for all your support. You keep me going with all that you do for CHERUBS and for the special CHERUB in your life.

- Written by Joe & Freedom Green, parents to Kylee

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Vote for CHERUBS at http://www.voteforcdh.org

Contest Info, Fliers, Graphics, etc at http://www.voteforcherubs.org/

Facebook CDH Voting Group at https://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_123312954385123&ap=1

Subscribe to Daily Vote Reminders - dailyvote-subscribe@voteforcherubs.org

Unubscribe to Daily Vote Reminders - dailyvote-unsubscribe@voteforcherubs.org

Feel free to forward this to family and friends!

Daily CDH Vote Reminder - Meet Cherub Nevaeh Johnson

2011-07-05T08:29:00.003-04:00

Please Vote Today - This is your daily vote reminder to help babies born with Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia!

CHERUBS is participating the Vivint Gives Back Contest on Facebook and we need your votes! How to vote:

1. Go to http://www.facebook.com/VivintHome and "Like" Vivint
2. Go to http://www.voteforcdh.org and click the Vote button
3. Log in through Facebook and Vote!
4. Repeat #2 and #3 daily through August 27, 2011

Contest Update - The 1st place charity has big celebrity endorsement as a movie star has a son with that condition. CDH doesn't have a huge movie star as a spokesperson but we can sure work hard to find one! If you know a celebrity who may be willing to help our babies simply by posting / tweeting, please ask them. :)

Contest Voter Tip Of The Day - Like the frame around Nevaeh's photo below? Get your own at http://imikimi.com/main/view_kimi/1tVnn-106

More Contest Info - visit http://www.voteforcherubs.org for information on how you can win prizes in our voter raffle, the contest video, free graphics, learn where the money would go to help CDH babies and more.

Did You Know? - Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia can affect anyone. It doesn't care what your race, gender, religion or socioeconomic status is. It can happen to any baby in any family. The cause is unknown.

Meet Our Cherubs! - Nevaeh was diagnosed at 17 weeks gestation ~ at first she was misdiagnosed as a CCAM and after much testing and many weeks they finally decided it was CDH. Then began the many weeks of ultrasounds, doctors trying to convince my daughter to abort due to the survival rate was not good and they continued to try to convince her to abort right up until 8 months when she finally made them understand that abortion was NOT an option! Nevaeh was born via C-Section and for the first week of her life she was put on ECMO which is a heart/lung bypass machine for babies. She was unable to eat, was heavily medicated to the point where she was paralyzed so that she wouldnt try to put the tubes and wires out that were keeping her alive, her parents weren't able to hold her , nor were they able to get newborn hospital pictures of her due to she was too sick to have them taken, her parents were also told not to speak to her due to when she heard their voices her blood pressure would raise . After a week she had her corrective surgery to close the whole in her diaphraghm and put her organs back into her stomache cavity where they belonged, though her heart was pushed to the other side of her body and one of her lungs was much smaller than the other ~ this newborn that the doctors tried so hard to convinced her mother to abort is now a very fiesty 1 and half year old that is running around pretty much healthy ~ and I say pretty much due to she does have breathing problems and does need a nebulizer but after all she has been through you would never know it to look at her that she only had a 50% chance of survival. We are one of the lucky families~ we know this and count our blessings everyday ~ there are so many other families that are not so lucky ~ every 10 minutes a baby is born with CDH and only half will survive !

Thank you all for your support and your votes to help CDH babies!

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Vote for CHERUBS at http://www.voteforcdh.org

Contest Info, Fliers, Graphics, etc at http://www.voteforcherubs.org

Facebook CDH Voting Group at https://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_123312954385123&ap=1

Subscribe to Daily Vote Reminders - dailyvote-subscribe@voteforcherubs.org

Unubscribe to Daily Vote Reminders - dailyvote-unsubscribe@voteforcherubs.org

Feel free to forward this to family and friends!

Submit your cherub to be featured by e-mailing his/her name, photo, date(s) and a short paragraph to membership@cdhsupport.org. By submitting, you give CHERUBS permission to use this data on our site, blogs, newsletters, videos, etc to raise CDH Awareness.

CHERUBS - The Association of Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia Research, Awareness and Support

Public 501(c)III non-profit organization serving over 3000 CDH families in 38 countries. Searching for the cause, prevention and best treatments of CDH since 1995.

http://www.cdhsupport.org
http://www.cdhresearch.org
http://cdhsupport.blogspot.com
http://www.cdhconference.org

Phone - 919-610-0129 E-mail - info@cdhsupport.org
Mailing Address - 3650 Rogers Rd #290, Wake Forest, NC 27587, USA

Daily CDH Vote Reminder - Meet Cherub Penelope Lane Spencer

2011-07-04T15:11:00.001-04:00

Please Vote Today - This is your daily vote reminder to help babies born with Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia!

CHERUBS is participating the Vivint Gives Back Contest on Facebook and we need your votes! How to vote:

1. Go to http://www.facebook.com/VivintHome and "Like" Vivint
2. Go to http://www.voteforcdh.org and click the Vote button
3. Log in through Facebook and Vote!
4. Repeat #2 and #3 daily through August 27, 2011

Contest Update - CHERUBS is currently in 3rd place nationally and 2nd place in our division. Every vote counts!

Contest Voter Tip Of The Day - Know a celebrity? Ask him / her to tweet / post for votes to help our babies and to raise awareness!

Did You Know? - 50% of babies born with CDH require Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO), a heart and lung bypass machine used to give the baby's heart and lungs time to rest.

Meet Our Cherubs! - This is Penelope Lane. She was born May 1, 2011. She would've been a concert pianist because she had the long fingers for it. She would have loved to read because her mommy is an English teacher. She would've ridden a skateboard better than any boy in the neighborhood because her daddy is a lifelong skater. She would've loved animals, especially the dog and two cats she was supposed to come home to. Unfortunately, Penelope never saw a piano. She never held a book. She never saw a skateboard or a single animal. On June 2, 2011, Penelope became one of 800 babies that dies every year from complications due to a congenital diaphragmatic hernia. Now all her mommy and daddy want is for you to help CHERUBS win $250,000 so they can help other families suffering with CDH.

Thank you all for your support and your votes to help CDH babies!

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Vote for CHERUBS at http://www.voteforcdh.org

Contest Info, Fliers, Graphics, etc at http://www.voteforcherubs.org/

Facebook CDH Voting Group at https://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_123312954385123&ap=1

Subscribe to Daily Vote Reminders - dailyvote-subscribe@voteforcherubs.org

Unubscribe to Daily Vote Reminders - dailyvote-unsubscribe@voteforcherubs.org

Feel free to forward this to family and friends!

Daily CDH Vote Reminder - Meet Cherub Camden James

2011-06-29T09:29:00.002-04:00

Please Vote Today http://www.voteforcdh.org

Meet Camden... through his parents words...

Please vote for CHERUBS and help future families. This is Camden James and this was how we got to see him for the first time. The birth was a blur and we had a quick glance and then he went straight on a lung and bypass machine called ECMO. He was on ECMO for 21 days. Then intubated for 7 MORE weeks. Then trached at 9 wks old. As strange as it seems, we were excited to have a trach because that meant closer to home and we got to see his face for the first time. We are so passionate about CHERUBS because the support of course, but it is even more than that. We want to help other families in so many ways. We want to see that orphan with CDH have parents that know CDH. We don't want parents losing their children from CDH. Please help future families. Newborn pictures shouldn't look like this.

Thank you all for your support and your votes to help CDH babies!

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Vote for CHERUBS at http://www.voteforcdh.org

Contest Info, Fliers, Graphics, etc at http://www.voteforcherubs.org

Facebook CDH Voting Group at https://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_123312954385123&ap=1

Subscribe to Daily Vote Reminders - dailyvote-subscribe@voteforcherubs.org

Unubscribe to Daily Vote Reminders - dailyvote-unsubscribe@voteforcherubs.org

Feel free to forward this to family and friends!

Submit your cherub to be featured by e-mailing his/her name, photo, date(s) and a short paragraph to membership@cdhsupport.org. By submitting, you give CHERUBS permission to use this data on our site, blogs, newsletters, videos, etc to raise CDH Awareness.
CHERUBS - The Association of Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia Research, Awareness and Support

Public 501(c)III non-profit organization serving over 3000 CDH families in 38 countries. Searching for the cause, prevention and best treatments of CDH since 1995.

http://www.cdhsupport.org
http://www.cdhresearch.org
http://cdhsupport.blogspot.com
http://www.cdhconference.org

Phone - 919-610-0129 E-mail - info@cdhsupport.org
Mailing Address - 3650 Rogers Rd #290, Wake Forest, NC 27587, USA