9th Annual Children's Miracle Network Radiothon

Local Children To Share Miracles, February 10 - 11

The ninth-annual Children’s Miracle Network (CMN) Radiothon is slated for Feb. 10 and 11, 6 a.m. till 6 p.m. on WDJR The Big Dog Country 96.9 FM. Broadcast live from center court at Wiregrass Commons Mall (900 Commons Drive, Dothan 36303), the Radiothon will benefit ill and injured children treated at The Children’s Hospital of Alabama.

During the two-day event, listeners will hear the true and heart-warming stories of Wiregrass-area children who, thanks to the care they received at Children’s Hospital, have overcome devastating illness and injury. Cooper Keasler of Headland is one of those kids.

Five-year-old Cooper is a walking, talking miracle. Few signs of the illness that nearly killed him two years ago are evident today, but in the fall of 2007, his parents, Cathy and Shane Keasler, were told he may not survive. Fortunately for Cooper—and thousands of children like him—help was available at Children’s.

A simple headache and fever were the first symptoms that prompted Cathy to take her son to his general pediatrician, who first diagnosed him with a fever virus. When Cooper’s condition began to quickly deteriorate, he was admitted to his local hospital where it was determined that he had pneumonia. Still, the boy grew sicker and sicker until the decision was made to send him to Children’s where he could receive specialized care. The next two months were a frightening whirlwind of tests, scans and medication to treat the aggressive illness. Cooper was kept in a medically-induced coma to allow time for his lungs to heal but finally he was well enough to be weaned from the ventilator that had been breathing for him for 41 days and the drugs that were necessary for his recovery. Today, his mom says “he is our same wonderful Cooper.”

Last year, children from the Houston, Henry, Dale, Coffee and Geneva counties made more than 3,500 visits to Children’s. The advanced treatment programs available to them there are made possible by the generous donations of individuals, civic organizations and businesses from across the state and Southeast. That support is the reason these children are alive to tell their stories.

The Children’s Miracle Network is a non-profit organization dedicated to helping children’s lives by raising funds for more than 170 children’s hospitals across North America. These non-profit hospitals provide the finest care, research and community outreach and education to help millions of children with diseases and injuries of every kind.

Children's Hospital of Alabama, which was among the first to join Children’s Miracle Network, has raised more than $23.5 million in its 26 years of CMN membership. One hundred percent of the dollars raised through CMN national sponsors goes directly to Children's Hospital. The more than $2 million raised in Alabama under the CMN umbrella last year alone testifies to the teamwork shown by the families, friends, advocates of children and CMN sponsors who want quality pediatric health care for our next generation.

Children’s Hospital of Alabama is the 10th busiest pediatric medical center in the United States. Located in Birmingham, Children’s is one of only about 45 freestanding acute care hospitals of its kind in the nation and the only hospital in Alabama dedicated solely to the care and treatment of children. It is licensed for 275 beds. Children’s is a private, not-for-profit hospital governed by a volunteer board of trustees. The hospital was recently recognized for the excellence of its nursing care by achieving Magnet designation from the American Nurses Credentialing Center. Children’s will celebrate its centennial anniversary in 2011.

For more information visit www.chsys.org or contact Angie Sherrill at 334-678-9039.