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Hope Shuler named 2003 March of Dimes ambassador
Shuler Shuler Hope Shuler, daughter of David and Cindy Shuler of Sylva, has been selected to serve as Jackson County's March of Dimes ambassador child for 2003.

She was chosen because although she was born eight weeks early, she survived, thanks to March of Dimes support of neonatal intensive care units and surfactant therapy.

When Cindy Shuler went into labor eight weeks early, she was immediately sent to Mission-St. Joseph Health System in Asheville to deliver her premature baby. After an emergency cesarean section, Hope was born weighing just 3 pounds, 7 ounces.

Hope suffered many medical complications, including trachea esophageal fistula, and was transferred to Carolina Medical Center in Charlotte for better-qualified care. She remained in the facility's neonatal intensive care unit for three months before being released.

Even then, Hope, a fourth-grader today at Scotts Creek Elementary School, would return to the hospital for more surgical procedures and follow-up care. In total, Hope underwent eight surgeries, including heart surgery, all before she was 7 months old.

Today, Hope, granddaughter of Rebecca Shuler of Sylva and the late Thomas Shuler, and Harrell and Ann Taylor of Whittier, is an active and healthy 10-year-old, although she continues to have some stomach and digestive complications.

"She is very excited about being chosen," said Hope's mother. "She's already out collecting money and encouraging everyone to walk."

The Shuler family is carrying on a 56-year tradition of the March of Dimes to select a child as a living symbol of the organization's successful fight to save babies. They'll be leading the way in the Walk.

America, the March of Dimes biggest and best-known fund-raising event to raise money to support research and programs to find the causes of premature birth.

In Sylva, WalkAmerica will take place Saturday, April 12, at Central Carolina Bank on Main Street.

Last year more than 500,000 people walked in more than 1,400 communities to raise $93 million to help save babies.

The March of Dimes is a national voluntary health agency with a mission to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects and infant mortality. Founded in 1938, the March of Dimes funds programs of research, community service, education and advocacy to save babies.

For more information, visit the March of Dimes website at www.walkamerica.org or call 1-800-525-WALK.

Back to Archive: 03/06/03.