Our organization is proud and grateful to welcome our newest Fundraiser volunteer, Stacy Lorenzo. Grandmother to CDH angel Skylar, Stacy is fighting Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia in her memory by helping to raise research funds through events, as well as helping other CDH families who would like to raise money for CDH Research International. You can reach our fundraising team at fundraising@cdhi.org
Her Eight Hours Became My Lifetime Mission
If you know me, you know that helping others has always been a part of who I am. I believe in bringing people together, giving back, and using whatever time and talents we are given to make a difference. But the greatest driving force behind what I do comes from someone very small who left an enormous imprint on my heart—my beautiful granddaughter, Skylar Milagros Fonseca.
Skylar was born on July 28, 2013, with Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia (CDH). We were blessed to have her for just eight precious hours before we had to say goodbye. There are no words to describe what it means to lose a child you love so deeply, but I made a choice that Skylar’s story would not end that day. Her eight hours on this earth became the beginning of a lifetime mission for me. I would speak her name. I would tell her story. I would raise awareness about CDH. And most importantly, I would do everything I could to help other families facing the fear, uncertainty, and heartbreak that comes with this diagnosis.
Today, I am incredibly honored to take that mission even further by working directly with CDH on fundraising efforts. I carry Skylar with me into every event, every fundraiser, every conversation, and every family I hope we can help. I cannot change what happened to our family, but I can choose what I do with the love Skylar left behind. I choose to turn that love into action, awareness, hope, and help for others. Skylar will always be my “why.” Her life was eight hours long, but her legacy will last a lifetime.
Stacy and her family are the hearts behind the annual Staten Island Mustang Car Show:
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