"Miracle Parents" Host Golf Tournament to Give Back to Children's Miracle Network

ORLANDO, FL, April 2, 2009 - The family of a four-year-old congenital heart patient will host their fourth annual charity golf tournament on Sunday, April 19 at Hawk's Landing Golf Club at Orlando World Center Marriott. Shotgun start for Emma's Miracle Invitational is at 1 p.m. The fee is $150 per golfer or $500 per foursome and net proceeds benefit Shands Children's Hospital at UF and Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children, Central Florida's Children's Miracle Network hospitals.

Chuck and Shannon Provenzano started the tournament in honor of their daughter who was born in 2005 with a heart defect called Transposition of the Great Vessels. The newborn's pulmonary artery and aorta were switched and she was not receiving oxygen-rich blood; her heart circulated oxygen-depleted blood through her body. Emma needed multiple open-heart surgeries over a number of years to correct the problem. At one week old Emma had a shunt implanted into her heart which was the size of her tiny fist. At six months old, Emma had her second surgery to begin the process of redirecting the blood flow through her heart. Then, when she was 3 1\2 years old, Emma had what was to be her final surgery. But there were complications during the procedure and in recovery caused by a rare blood disorder called Thrombocytopenia. Emma also suffered an aortic valve tear which had to be repaired with a fourth open heart surgery. After 37 days in the hospital Emma was finally well enough to go home. Today she is enjoying all the things little girls love to do and especially enjoys riding the new bike she got for Christmas.

Children's Miracle Network began in 1983 to raise funds for children's hospitals and awareness of the services they provide. Today, there are more than 170 Children's Miracle Network hospitals worldwide. The money raised through Children's Miracle Network sponsors and programs in each community benefits the local participating Children's Miracle Network hospitals. The money is used to fund equipment, research and programs that ensure these hospitals can provide the most advance level of medical care for children.

For more information, contact Sandy McPherson at the Greater Orlando Children's Miracle Network office, 407-481-2774, or visit www.gocmn.org.