[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 4]
[House]
[Page 5447]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




        NATIONAL CONGENITAL DIAPHRAGMATIC HERNIA AWARENESS MONTH

  (Mr. HOLDING asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. HOLDING. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to join my constituent and 
friend, Dawn Williamson, in raising awareness for congenital 
diaphragmatic hernia, also known as CDH.
  Mr. Speaker, CDH affects over 1,000 babies in the United States per 
year and has affected more than 700,000 babies worldwide since the year 
2000.
  After giving birth to a child with CDH and finding no support groups 
for mothers of babies with CDH, my friend, Dawn, founded the 
Association of Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia Research, Awareness, and 
Support, or CHERUBS, for short, in 1995.
  Headquartered in the beautiful town of Wake Forest, North Carolina, 
CHERUBS is an international charity helping over 5,700 families in 61 
countries.
  Mr. Speaker, babies born with CDH and their loving families face a 
difficult journey, and I rise today to raise awareness and to recognize 
the importance of strong individuals like Dawn Williamson, who work to 
make the journey for others easier and more comfortable than it was for 
her.
  In conclusion, Mr. Speaker, I am proud to offer this resolution 
expressing support for the designation of April 2016 as National 
Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia Awareness Month. This condition is far 
too common for us to know so little.

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