Enrique Escajeda of California has been named the March 2012 – Courage to Shine – Role Model of the Month. In his honor we have reprinted his story below from January 26, 2012 ———————————————————————– Enrique Escajada – Aerialist Overcomes Adversity to Fly Published on January 26, 2012 Aerialist Overcomes Adversity to Fly by Enrique Escajeda Hello,…
Month: March 2012
Joanna Burgess – Joy’s Way – A Journey of Survival, Hope and Inspiration
Editor’s Note: Courage to Shine™ is honored to present the original story of Joanna Burgess’s amazing and inspirational life. Joanna originally submitted the following story to be published in a major national magazine, but the magazine elected not to publish it, however their loss is Courage to Shine’s gain. Joanna Burgess is a nurse, a cancer survivor, a wife and…
2012 List of Camp and Campout Programs for Exstrophy Kids, Teens and Families:
2012 List of Camp and Campout Programs for Exstrophy Kids, Teens and Families By Thomas Exler For about the last 6 or 7 years or so each spring, I have been putting together a list of camps and programs for families living with bladder exstrophy. It originally started out as an e-mail, but this year it will…
Family Campouts for Bladder Exstrophy
Family Campouts for Bladder Exstrophy By Thomas Exler Each year there are two family campouts for Bladder Exstrophy held in the USA, one in South Lake Tahoe, California and the other one in Northern Indiana In August of 2002, I was invited as a guest speaker to attend the 2002 California Bladder Exstrophy Support Team…
THOMAS EXLER – Founder & Chairman of Courage to Shine™
Hello my name is Thomas Exler, from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
Climbing the stairs at a waterfall in Iceland in May of 2011
For many years now, I have had been given a great opportunity to meet so many amazing people from all over the world, not in spite of, but because I was born with a rare birth defect called bladder exstrophy. My life has had numerous blessings because of it, and on the whole the blessings have gratefully outweighed all the negatives I have had to personally endure
I Will Work And Find The Courage To Shine
http://uromed.wordpress.com/2012/01/30/i-will-work-and-find-the-courage-to-shine/ From UroMed Hometown Heroes – Originally posted on January 30, 2012 For the first year or two of Courage to Shine’s existence, our main goal is to reach out to people with urinary defects. We’ll also have articles about other types of challenges and the people who have had these problems and still have achieved great things…
No Mountain Is Too High To Climb When You Have Courage
http://uromed.wordpress.com/2012/01/28/no-mountain-is-too-high-to-climb-when-you-have-courage/ From UroMed Hometown Heroes – Originally posted on January 28, 2012 Courage to Shine was created to help people who have medical challenges see that the only walls between where we are, and where we want to go, are the walls we put up. Once, I heard a speaker say, “When I became paralyzed, I didn’t spend…
A “You Can” Attitude Helps Children with Disabilities Find the Courage to Shine
http://uromed.wordpress.com/2012/01/27/a-you-can-attitude-helps-children-with-disabilities-find-the-courage-to-shine/ From UroMed Hometown Heroes – Originally posted on January 27, 2012 When parents learn that their children have a medical issue like bladder exstrophy, often their dreams for those children cease, and the parents suffer along with the children. However, on the front page of the Courage to Shine website, we can show parents what their children…
Life’s Great Possibilities Await For People With Disabilities Who Find The Courage To Shine
http://uromed.wordpress.com/2012/01/26/the-great-possibilities-in-life-for-people-with-disabilities-who-find-the-courage-to-shine/ From UroMed Hometown Heroes – Originally posted on January 26, 2012 Exler: Courage to Shine, a new project we created, was originally created to be an awards program to honor outstanding people, especially those with bladder exstrophy. We wanted to honor accomplishments in society and in the greater world. As we developed the idea, we thought that a better…
Courage Is The Key To Overcome Fear With Thomas Exler
http://uromed.wordpress.com/2012/01/25/courage-is-the-key-to-overcome-fear-with-thomas-exler/ From UroMed Hometown Heroes – Originally posted on January 25, 2012 I’m often asked, “Why is a support group so important for an individual who has a physical challenge to overcome?” The only way to get courage is to face your fears and overcome them. The benefits of courage are success, happiness and bravery. Most people run away from fear….
Courage to Shine™ 