For more information contact:
Sandy McPherson
Phone:  407/481-2774  Cell:  407/832-1061
sandy@gocmn.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CENTRAL FLORIDA CHILD TO REPRESENT FLORIDA AS NATIONAL AMBASSADOR FOR CHILDREN’S HOSPITALS

January 13, 2006, ORLANDO, FL - The word champion evokes images of a victory on the field, in the ring, or on the track.  For a 5 year-old infected by E.coli bacteria, the word champion takes on a whole new meaning.  She is a victor in the battle for life itself. 

Selected as Florida’s representative in Champions Across America, a national Children’s Miracle Network program presented by CO-OP Network, Shannon Smowton of Winter Garden will serve as an ambassador for the millions of kids treated each year at children’s hospitals across the country.  This spring, she will be Children's Miracle Network’s only representative to host other miracle children from across the country in her hometown.  Following the event, Shannon will travel to Washington D.C. to share her incredible story with some of our nation’s leaders. 

Due to an unsanitary trip to the petting zoo in March 2005, Shannon contracted a deadly kidney disease known as Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome.  Upon arrival at Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children, she was delirious and her intestines were badly inflamed.  After a viscous struggle for survival, the usually fatal stream of bacteria was successfully treated by Shannon’s medical team, saving her life and securing her recovery.

As one of 58 children from the United States and Canada participating in Champions Across America, Shannon will meet fellow miracle children at Walt Disney World in Orlando March 16 – 18 to participate in the taping of the internationally televised “Children’s Miracle Network Celebration.”  Then the U.S. ambassadors for children’s hospitals will travel to Washington D.C. where they will visit Capitol Hill and the White House to communicate the vital role of children’s hospitals.

Shannon Smowton Named Florida’s CMN Champion

Children’s Miracle Network is a non-profit organization dedicated to saving and improving the lives of children by raising funds for children’s hospitals across North America. Participating hospitals in Central Florida are Shands Children's Hospital at the University of Florida and Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children. Money raised through Children's Miracle Network is used to purchase patient care equipment and fund programs and research that benefit more than 250,000 children treated at these two hospitals each year. 

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