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,…
Tag: Courage to Shine
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
Note: In 2012, John Walsh from Stomawise website: which is based in the United Kingdom, invited Thomas Exler to write about his story for the My Story section of Stomawise website. Also at end of this blog are the links to articles from the UroMed Hometown Heroes blog; which they featured Thomas Exler and Courage to Shine for…
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….
Jamie Holmes Founded Jamie’s Dream Team to Help Others
http://uromed.wordpress.com/2011/12/09/jamie-holmes-founded-jamies-dream-team-to-help-others/ UroMed Hometown Hero – Jamie Holmes Part 3 From the time I was very young, I knew I wanted to start a non-profit organization to help others. That’s why once I graduated from high school, I started Jamie’s Dream Team. I contacted an attorney my family knew, and she filed the paperwork to create Jamie’s…
A Life-Changing Decision: Jamie Holmes Decides Christmas is About Giving, Not Receiving
http://uromed.wordpress.com/2011/12/07/a-life-changing-decision-jamie-holmes-decides-christmas-is-about-giving-not-receiving/ UroMed Hometown Hero – Jamie Holmes Part 2 – Originally Posted DECEMBER 7, 2011 Right before I was 15-years old, I went in for another surgery. My sister always would stay with me in the hospital before my operations. This time there was a little girl in the room with me who needed a heart transplant. Her…
Jamie Holmes of Jamie’s Dream Team Explains You Have to Know What Your Focus Is
http://uromed.wordpress.com/2011/12/06/jamie-holmes-of-jamies-dream-team-explains-you-have-to-know-what-your-focus-is/ UroMed Hometown Hero – Jamie Holmes Part 1 – Originally Posted DECEMBER 6, 2011 Hi, my name is Jamie Holmes. I’m 24-years old and live with a condition called V.A.T.E.R. Syndrome, which was diagnosed in utero. I have endured over 42 surgeries in my life, with the surgeries starting at the time of my birth, to reconstruct my…
James Cole – Overcoming Adversity – “A Life of Long Odds” Part 3 of 3 – Including The Short Film “The Night Before”
Part 1 – “A Life of Long Odds” Part 2 – “A Life of Long Odds” Editor’s Note: This is the final part of a 3 part series by James Cole – A Life of Long Odds – and we at Courage to Shine would like to thank James for showing the courage to help inspire us and…
James Cole – Overcoming Adversity – “A Life of Long Odds” Part 2 of 3
Part 1 – “A Life of Long Odds “A LIFE OF LONG ODDS” Part 2 of 3 By James Cole After moving to Cape Cod and starting a new life, I felt reborn. I had many new friends, a renewed passion for my filmmaking, art, and even acting – participating in two high school…
James Cole – Overcoming Adversity – “A Life of Long Odds” Part 1 of 3
“A Life of Long Odds” Part 1 of 3 By James Cole I was born on an August day in 1966 with a birth defect the doctors at our local hospital could not identify. My parents were only told that my bladder was on the outside, and that I was in critical condition. It wasn’t…
Megg Rose – Inspirational Story of Triumphing over Medical Adversity – Part 2 of 3
Editor’s Note from Thomas Exler: I first met Megg Rose in 1996 in Boulder, Colorado while attending a medical based camp program, and over the years we have continued to stay in touch, and no matter if she was shooting a TV Movie or competing in pageants, or raising her family. If you wanted to…
Megg Rose – Inspirational Story of Triumphing over Medical Adversity – Part 1 of 3
Editor’s Note from Thomas Exler: I first met Megg Rose in 1996 in Boulder, Colorado while attending a medical based camp program, and over the years we have continued to stay in touch, and no matter if she was shooting a TV Movie or competing in pageants, or raising her family. If you wanted to…
Enrique Escajada – Aerialist Overcomes Adversity to Fly
Aerialist Overcomes Adversity to Fly by Enrique Escajeda Hello, My name Is Enrique Escajeda and I was born with Bladder Exstrophy. For those that don’t know bladder exstrophy is when a person is born with their bladder on the outside of the body. It’s a complicated ailment that demands many surgeries especially throughout childhood. The…
JAMIE HOLMES-WARD – Jamie’s Dream Team
DREAMS BY HOLMES, A YOUNG LADY WHO TRULY MAKES DREAMS COME TRUE. By Thomas Exler Twenty-four year old Jamie Holmes, from White Oak, Pennsylvania has been named as the first Courage to Shine™ – Role Model of the Month for the Courage to Shine™ program. Jamie has earned this recognition because she has turned her…
Courage to Shine™ 