Our Angel Ball and Golf Tournament Pagaent Queens

[Dawn Torrence Ireland]

I received this from Wendy, she was a volunteer at the Angel Ball and the Golf Tournament - a photo of her and I is in the photo album. I've known Wendy for about 2 years, not well though - I did her wedding photos 2 years ago after meeting her at Duke Gardens. Fate has really played a hand in me meeting her then and again now when she volunteered to help with the events without realizing it was me with CHERUBS. She just sent me this.......


Just wanted to say you did an AMAZING job on the Angel Ball & Golf Tournament!!! I think you should be SO PROUD for having such a great turn out the first year! I am going to make Cherubs my platform. I would LOVE to do that and I know we can get some awareness out there. I know more about CDH and it is amazing the stories I have heard from you parents! Please keep in touch and I am in the process of having my website updated (wendypetty. com) and I will put a new section in the there named My Platform with information about CDH and Cherubs with links there also... I am so glad we have connected again (thanks Craigslist!!) It was defintaley fate that we ran into each other! I will be more than happy to help out with ANY event, fundraiser, small or big!! so let me know and im there! we had a blast this weekend and Monday! Again GREAT JOB!!!! And thanks for being so humble. It really shows and makes a huge impact!

-Wendy


Wendy is currently Mrs. Capitol City and she's been Miss Hawaiin Tropic and held several other titles. She's also been on several TV shows, was in Chris Daughtry's music video and her career is just starting to take off. She's really a wonderful girl and I just adore her and I know she's going to be true to her word on helping raise awareness!

[Corin Nava]

That is amazing!!! How wonderful of her to do this to help spread awareness!

[LynneB]

Here is our celeb spokesperson we have been waiting for!

[Barbara and KevinWagner]

Oh that is AWESOME!! I have goosebumps from reading her e-mail! How wonderful!

Barb

[PennyCampsey]

oh wow !! chills here too!
such a sweet souding person!
we need her ... this is great !
WOW.. CDH is booming !! ! ! ! ! THANK YOU DAWN and all of YOU!

[StephanieOlivarez]

How wonderful!!!
What a touching e-mail.

[AmyMiles]

What great news!

[KimberlySwitzer]

Thats wonderful news!! She sounds like such a wonderful person!

[Dawn Torrence Ireland]

Wendy posted this to her MySpace blog this morning to help raise awareness......


Cherubs - The Association of Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia (CDH) Research, Advocacy, and Support



I want to take a moment to explain Cherubs and CDH and the involvement that I have..

I was online one day and I was looking for volunteer work and ran across some ad that simply said Angel Ball and Golf Tournament. It said nothing about what it was about, and nothing about who was the leader of this. So I emailed the address it gave me and waited for a respone..

I was on the way to dinner with Jason and some friends and I recieved an email with all of the information about the events and then at the bottom of the email it said "BTW... you know me, I took photos at your wedding". I immediately remembered her and I emailed her back! I told Jason about it and I kept saying what a small world it was! I honestly believe it was fate that we connected again. I know that God put her back in my life for a reason!

I knew absolutely nothing about CDH. I couldn't even tell you what CDH stood for or who it affected. I went online and read a bit about it so I would know something. When I went to the Angel Ball it was the first time I actually talked to parents and heard their testimony. A parent explained to me how the lungs do not devolp properly due to the organs growing in the chest cavity (these are my words) the actual definition [The diaphragm is formed in the first trimester of pregnancy and controls the lungs' ability to inhale and exhale. CDH occurs when the diaphragm fails to form or to close totally and an opening allows abdominal organs into the chest cavity. This inhibits lung growth. The cause is not yet known.] I also learned that CDH happens 1 in every 2,500 births. 1,600 of those are in the US, and about 50% of those babies do NOT survive. Babies are not surviving because the is no cure, because there is no reaserch, because we didn't even know this existed, because we haven't been directly affected by this. Do not wait until your baby becomes a Cherub. Babies don't deserve to go through this but we can ALL do our part to help out anyway that we can. Even if you buy a t-shirt, or a pin. I can guarentee someone that see's Cherubs on your T-shirt will ask "What is Cherubs" and that is another person to learn what this is and what this all about. We can't make CDH not happen but with knowledge about this we CAN help cure this! Please help save a baby's life.

I didn't know Dawn was affected by this. Her son, Shane was 6 when he lost his battle with CDH. She didn't say my son had this, she is more concerned about stopping this illness rather than just telling people about what has happned to her. When I learned that she had been affected by this I was so amazed at how she cares so much for everyone that she would take something bad that has happed to her and has turned it into something positive. Her story is quite amazing and defintely she should share it however she is so humble, and so genuine that she knows the time to share. She is amazing!

So, now... go online: http://www.cdhsupport.org/

Read about this so you can learn.

Learn about this so you can stop this.

..and buy a hoodie. They are really cute!


<3,

Wendy

[StephanieOlivarez]

How touching!!
Thank you Wendy.
The tears are falling.
Just one person can spread SOOOO much CDH Awareness.
Pass it on. Spread CDH Awareness and the great thing is through you and members of CHERUBS we can together accomplish anything.
This is pure inspiration.