Courage to Shine™ Team to Attend ASEXVE Medical Conference in Avila, Spain from November 23 –25, 2012    

Pittsburgh, PA, USA, November 5, 2012: Courage to Shine™ Team lead by Thomas Exler, president of the Association for the Bladder Exstrophy Community (ABC) and founder & chairman of Courage to Shine™ along with team member Misty Blue Foster, LVN, advisor to CompactCath, have been invited to attend and to speak at the ASEXVE (Asociación española de Extrofia Vesical, Cloacal y Epispadias) Medical Conference in Alvia, Spain from Friday, November 23 – Sunday November 25 2012The Courage to Shine™ Team  will give motivational presentations based on their own experiences living with bladder and cloacal exstrophy, and will be participate in workshops during the conference, as well as interact on a personal level with many of the families who will be attending the ASEXVE Medical Conference.

ASEXVE (Asociación española de Extrofia Vesical, Cloacal y Epispadias) Medical Conference in Alvia, Spain – Programa encuentro medico Asexve 2012

This will be the third tour in the last three years for a team from Courage to Shine™ to travel overseas.

In June of 2010 Courage to Shine™ team traveled to Australia and spoke at the BEECHAC International Conference in Sydney, New South Wales, and afterwards met with a family in Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia.

BEECHAC  International Conference Photos on Facebook, and Courage to Shine™ Team thank you video from BEECHAC Conference on Facebook

2011 Courage to Shine Team – Jimmy Simons, Margaret Lloyd, Misty Blue Foster, Bob Heitker, and Thomas Exler

In April/May of 2011 Courage to Shine™ traveled with a 5 member team to a program called Breakaway-Visits in Swadlincote, England, UK, as well as meet with leaders of many other UK based patient support organizations while in England.  Additionally, three members from Courage to Shine™ also continued the tour with a stopover in Iceland on the way home to the USA, to talk with members of two patient support organizations.

Breakaway -Visits Photos on Facebook, and Courage to Shine™ Thank you video to Breakaway-Visits on Facebook .  Courage to Shine visit to Iceland Photos on Facebook.

The 2012 Courage to Shine™ Tour will include the following team members.

Thomas Exler, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA, President of Association for the Bladder Exstrophy Community (ABC) www.bladderexstrophy.com  and Founder and Chairman of Courage to Shine™ www.courage-to-shine.org

Misty Blue Foster LVN, San Mateo, California, USA,  2009 Ina Brudnick Award Recipient, (USA) West Regional, Courage To Shine™ – Role Model of the Month for June 2012  and is an advisor to CompactCath. (Misty Blue Foster’s Website http://www.mistybluefoster.com/)

Thomas and Misty Blue of the Courage To Shine™ team are both very excited to be attending the ASEXVE Medical Conference and will be leaving from the United States for Madrid and Avila, Spain on Wednesday November 21, 2012

Follow updated stories and photos of the Courage To Shine™ trip to Spain from November 21to November 27, 2012 on the Courage To Shine facebook fan page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/COURAGE-TO-SHINE/104427046255572 and through the Courage To Shine website at http://www.courage-to-shine.org

Media Contact: Thomas Exler, Founder of Courge to Shine, Phone +1-412-512-3139 or E-mail: texler@courage-to-shine.org

*Association for the Bladder Exstrophy Community (ABC)– The ABC is an international support network of individuals with bladder exstrophy (includes classic bladder exstrophy, cloacal exstrophy, and epispadias) local parent exstrophy support groups, and health care providers working with patients and families living with bladder exstrophy.  For more information about the Association for the Bladder Exstrophy Community (ABC) please contact Thomas Exler by e-mail at tom@bladderexstrophy.com or by going to  www.bladderexstrophy.com or on Facebook at  http://www.facebook.com/pages/Association-for-the-Bladder-Exstrophy-Community-ABC/114203991924068

*Courage to Shine™is the international awards program of the Association for the Bladder Exstrophy Community. It is a program that features adult patients who have grown up with some form of medical adversity, and have become successful in life.  For more information about Courage to Shine™ program please contact Thomas Exler by e-mail at texler@courage-to-shine.org or by going to www.courage-to-shine.org or on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/COURAGE-TO-SHINE/104427046255572

* ASEXVE – Asociación española de Extrofia Vesical, Cloacal y Epispadias – ASEXVE is the national Association in Spain for bladder, and cloacal exstrophy and epispadais.  For more information on ASEXVE please contact Rosario López at asexve@asexve.es or by going to http://www.asexve.es/ or on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/ASEXVE

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