12th Annual California Bladder Exstrophy Support Team Campout – August 3 – 5, 2012


12th Annual California Bladder Exstrophy Support Team Campout Friday August 3 – Sunday August 5, 2012 Campground by the Lake, South Lake Tahoe, California, USA By Thomas Exler This past August 3-5  2012, 15-20 families living with bladder exstrophy, came  together  in South Lake Tahoe, California, for the 12th Annual California Bladder Exstrophy Support Team (B.E.S.T.)…

4th Annual ABC Great Lakes Chapter Campout – July 20-22, 2012


4th Annual ABC Great Lakes Chapter Campout Friday July 20 – Sunday July 22, 2012 Eby’s Pines RV Park & Campground, Bristol, Indiana, USA In late July 2012, Alice Ambrose of Michigan, along with her husband Brad Ambrose were honored to again be the hosts for the 4th Annual ABC Great Lakes Chapter Campout, at Eby’s…

Joanna Burgess–Joy’s Way–A Journey of Survival, Hope and Inspiration – Reposted June 9 2012


Editor’s Note: In honor of Joanna Burgess being honored tonight (June 9, 2012) in Charlotte, North Carolina as this year’s  Great Comebacks® National Award recipient, we at Courage to Shine would like to re-post her original story “Joy’s Way – A Journey of Survival, Hope and Inspiration” Originally Published on March 24, 2012:  Courage to Shine™ is honored to present the original story of…

Misty Blue Foster & Jamie Holmes Featured in eBook Honoring the Best of UroMed Hometown Heroes


Misty Blue Foster and Jamie Holmes, two of Courage to Shine Role Models of the Month, have had their stories published by UroMed Hometown Heroes Blogg converted along with 14 others into eBook: Courage: Stories of Hometown Heroes which can be purchased on Amazon.com at  http://www.amazon.com/Courage-Stories-Hometown-Heroes-ebook/dp/B007WU2RX4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1335785891&sr=8-1 UroMed Launches E-book on Hometown Heroes Overcoming Disabilities MAY 2, 2012 LEAVE A…

ENRIQUE ESCAJADA – Courage To Shine™ – Role Model of the Month for March 2012


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,…

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…

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

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…