Courage To Shine ™, Turning Adversity to Triumph,

Courage to Shine™ was founded to acknowledge, motivational and inspirational individuals and/or groups of patients whom have overcome congenital genitourinary birth defects and/or major urological surgeries in their childhood (but not limited too), and have the courage, strength and determination, to transform that adversity to triumph later in life.

Newest Stories:

Luc Giros – BE (Bladder Exstrophy) Expedition Sailing Trip

BE Expedition is a family sailing trip to make invisible and rare diseases visible.

Our objective is to highlight the people we will meet who suffer from rare and/or invisible diseases. We thus wish to convey a message: “Despite our malformation, let us become what we decide to be.”

Luc was born with bladder exstrophy, a rare disease that affects one in 30,000 people. This malformation impacts the bladder, genitals and urethra. We are both invested in the bladder exstrophy patient community.

Capucine Mestre is a general practitioner and Luc Giros is an image reporter. With our one-year-old baby, Paula, we aim to leave in the summer of 2024 on our sailboat Complices.

On this channel we aim to share our WHOLE adventure with you: Preparing the boat, adapting the boat for Paula, our life on board, project and budget management, energy on board, our navigations, our struggles and our meetings…. We will also use the boat as a studio to take portraits of people with rare diseases along the way in the form of interviews.

Cheyenne Riggs – Professor Flex #825 – Roller Derby Athlete

By Cheyenne Riggs

As I’m sitting down to write this, I’m quite sore from a weightlifting session this morning (friggin’ leg day!) This past weekend, I played a double-header with my roller derby team, Twister City Roller Derby. I spent ten years as a youth playing softball, and have dabbled in everything from laser tag to swing dance.

But what many people would be surprised to learn is that I was born with bladder exstrophy, and that my parents were told I would likely never walk correctly, let alone play a sport.

To view more: Cheyenne Riggs – Professor Flex #825 – Roller Derby Athlete

JESSICA SANCHEZ – 2023 COURAGE TO SHINE™ Lisha Martinez & Adam Young Award Recipient

By Jessica Sanchez

My name is Jessica Sanchez. You may recognize me from the Courage to Shine article I wrote back in 2016. I am currently 33 years old and still reside in Washington State. Born with classic bladder exstrophy, I have strived to live a life where this birth defect does not define me, it’s just a part of my story. If you were to ask anyone close to me who I am they would tell you I am a wife, mother, sister daughter, worship leader, administrator, friend, and a woman of faith. Life with bladder exstrophy hasn’t always been easy but in my case, I truly believe I’m one of the lucky ones. The unknown my parents experienced the night I was born ended up resulting in a journey I wouldn’t change for the world.

On March 30^th, 1990, my parents, Alan and Sherrie Croshaw welcomed their 1^st child into the world; a 7 pound, 10 ounces little girl. Shortly after the delivery while the nurses were examining all my fingers and toes, my parents began noticing there was some confusion. After a considerable amount of time, the doctor walked into the room with a textbook and said, “I think this is what your daughter has.” After informing my parents that I needed to be flown to a larger hospital they were given the choice of Spokane or Seattle. The start of my luck with bladder exstrophy began the moment they chose Seattle. I will forever be grateful for that decision because it meant that I was going to Seattle Children’s Hospital and was now a patient of Dr. Michael Mitchell, a world-renowned pediatric urologist.

To view more of: JESSICA SANCHEZ – 2023 COURAGE TO SHINE™ Lisha Martinez & Adam Young Award Recipient

Paul Anthony – Police Officer and Family Man

My name is Paul Anthony. I’m 35 years old. I’m a husband, a father and a police officer. I love my life and I love my career but it was a long challenging journey to become the man I am today. Here’s my story.

To view more: Paul Anthony – Police Officer and Family Man