Featured CDH International’s North Carolina Ambassador is Theresa Erazmus. Theresa is the mom to cherub survivor Will.
Theresa is a stay-at-home mom raising her three children: Olivia (9), Will (7), and Natalie (14 mos). She was born and raised in Buffalo, NY, and received her Masters in Speech Language Pathology from the University of Buffalo. She specialized in early intervention as well as oral-deaf education. In 2008, Theresa and her husband, Keith, moved to Raleigh, NC. As soon as she was expecting her first child she knew that she wanted to cherish her little ones time at home and put her career on hold. Little did she know that she would put her education to good use after hearing that Will was diagnosed with CDH during her 20 week ultrasound. Will was given a 25% chance to survive, but has proven to be quite the little fighter. After extended hospital stays and visits he came home and received numerous therapies including feeding and speech. To Theresa it was definitely eye-opening to be the parent and not the therapist this time around. Will became her full time job and today he is excelling in Kindergarten. Theresa would describe her family as a very close knit one that likes to spend time together, especially at the beach. They have definitely grown stronger as a family with all that they have gone through with Will. When she gets some time alone, Theresa enjoys working out, reading, and decorating/organizing their family home.
