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July 2011
Running for Their Lives By Jody Morgan
Shane Nelson is training for the up and downhill challenge of the San Francisco Marathon. On July 31st he will run with 11 Nayeli Faith Foundation teammates, ten doing the full course and two opting for the half marathon. Although only 40% of marathon runners worldwide finish a race, Shane’s completion of the New York Marathon on November 7, 2010 makes him confident that he’ll be crossing the finish line. He keeps a photograph of his daughter, Nayeli, on his cell phone. When his energy level plummets, he flips to her Shane and Nayeli Nelson picture. “If she could manage when only given a 20-40% chance of surviving to be ripping her tubes out at six days (of age), I can keep going.” Running a marathon was not in Shane Nelson’s future. Unable to walk for six months following a 2002 accident, the Danville resident was advised by his doctors not to attempt it. But the call to compete for a cause close to his heart was compelling. Even an ankle injury that left him only three months to train did not deter him. A stranger in New Jersey, Luis Ramirez, had contacted Shane about participating in the New York Marathon along with his Global CDH team raising money for children coping with Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia. Nelson never wavered in his decision to help. Like Luis, he knew first hand that CDH could be a killer. During a routine 18-week ultrasound Shane and Elizabeth Nelson heard the technician saying repeatedly, “Liver up.” Their daughter’s diaphragm, the muscle that separates the chest from the abdominal cavity, had not formed properly allowing her liver and other abdominal organs to crowd her heart and lungs, a condition called CDH. Disappointed by two previous failed pregnancies, Shane and Elizabeth Nelson were determined to bring their daughter into the world despite dire predictions that her chances of survival were slim. CDH is more common than Cystic Fibrosis, but it is almost unknown to the general public. CDH affects one in 2,500 births compared to estimates of one in 3,000 for Cystic Fibrosis. The cause of CDH remains a mystery. Many newborns with CDH cannot breathe or circulate blood on their own. Immediate medical intervention is required. At UCSF, one of a handful of hospitals across the country equipped to provide the necessary care, a team of specialists attended Nayeli Nelson’s birth on October 22, 2008. She came out fighting. Stabilization is critical before corrective surgery can be performed. Nayeli was deemed ready at two days. “She’s a CDH warrior,” says Shane. Knowing that once she was admitted to the Neo-Natal Intensive Care Unit at UCSF, Nayeli might be staying there for three to six months, Elizabeth and Shane arranged to stay at Ronald McDonald House, but they were told last minute that they lived a mile too close to the hospital to qualify. Nevertheless, they decided
Serving Danville Do You Know How?
By Fran Miller
Are you a current or former professional with a wealth of knowledge or expertise in a particular subject? Are you willing to share that knowledge in order to make a difference in your community? If your answers are yes, and you are 55 or older, the Know How Network would like to recruit you. The Know How Network (KHN), formerly the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP), connects volunteers, age 55 and older, with local nonprofits in Contra Costa County that have projects matching volunteer interests, skills, and schedules. By utilizing personal experiences, energy, and enthusiasm to help complete short-term, high impact projects, skilled volunteers help KHN registered nonprofits advance their missions and client services by providing marketing or technology services, developing
Share your professional experience by volunteering with The Know How Network. Pictured left to right, Carol Ann Barber, program manager, Alissa Fencsik, program manager, and Ann Wullschleger, KHN program director.
programs, training staff, fundraising, and more. Established a year ago in response to baby boomers’ desire to volunteer their professional skills and experience within their communities, KHN and its volunteers are changing the volunteer landscape with the mutually beneficial partnerships between skilled volunteer labor and worthy non-profits. The staff of KHN recruit, interview, and match volunteers age 55+ with “know how” to assist nonprofits with short-term projects, typically one to
See How continued on page 18
Research Before Donating By Alisa Corstorphine
Every community library in the Contra Costa County Library system has a “Friends” program that helps raise funds through the collection and resale of used books. These programs run entirely with the help of volunteers and with their support they help fund additional library hours, library materials, and special programs. The Friends are dependent on the contributions of used books, DVDs, and CDs from the community to meet their goals. However, the Friends are facing a new challenge. A national corporation has started putting used book blue bins in many supermarket parking lots as a convenient way for people to get rid of old media which in turn has diverted donations away from local charities and libraries. Volume II - Number 9 See Running continued on page 20 The bins are marked for 3000F Danville Blvd. #117, Alamo, CA 94507 Telephone (925) 405-NEWS, 405-6397 Reading Tree, a charity, but in PRSRT STD Fax (925) 406-0547 fact there appears to be a murky U.S. Postage PAID line between the nonprofit and Alisa Corstorphine ~ Publisher Permit 263 editor@yourmonthlypaper.com for-profit businesses that have Alamo CA The opinions expressed herein belong to the writers, and do placed the bins. According to an not necessarily reflect that of Danville Today News. Danville article titled ‘Books for charity’ Today News is not responsible for the content of any of the
See Books cont. on page 17
advertising herein, nor does publication imply endorsement.