Damon Little


Damon Little Damon Little is a National Gospel and Grammy Winner Artist, I (Thomas Exler) ran into his at the United Ostomy Associations Conference.  During his childhood he has many surgeries and live with a colostomy for years. Damon Little: http://www.damonlittle.com/ Damon Little / Be Alright-2019:  Courage To Shine™, Turning Adversity to Triumph, Courage to…

Matt Elkins – Angling over Adversity


Angling over Adversity By Matt Elkins My name is Matt Elkins; I’m 40 years old; I’m married; I live in Spencerville, Ohio; I’m an environmental specialist by trade; and I have a passion for hunting and tournament bass fishing. That pretty much sums me up in as few words as possible. What is missing from…

Amy Oestreicher – Turning Adversity into Gratitude


For information about TEDx Syracuse University go to Amy’s Webpage Turning Adversity into Gratitude By Amy Oestreicher I’ve been called a surgical disaster, a medical miracle, barely alive to the energizer bunny that just keep going. It was the night of our family Passover Seder – a favorite holiday of mine, reminding me of Spring,…

Courage to Shine™ – Tour III – Spain – November 2012


Courage to Shine™ – Tour III – Spain – ASEXVE Medical Conference, Avila, Spain – November 23-25, 2012 News Release: Courage to Shine™ Team to Attend ASEXVE Medical Conference in Avila, Spain from November 23 –25, 2012 In early 2012, Thomas Exler and Mist Blue Foster were invited to attend and to speak at the ASEXVE (Asociación española…

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…

Alice Ambrose – Featured as a UroMed Hometown Hero


Alice Ambrose a long time friend of the Association for the Bladder Exstrophy Community was featured as a UroMed Hometown Hero on the UroMed blog from May 14 – 20, 2012 at http://www.uromed.com/blog/ Below are the links to the articles written by John Phillips and posted on the UroMed Hometown Heroes Blog site: PART 1 of…

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™


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…