Suicide Blonde, an ‘80’s cover band, will play for a concert to benefit the nonprofit CHERUBS-CDH on Friday, June 9, from 9 p.m. to midnight at the Renaissance Centre for the Arts on Brooks Street
Tickets are $10 before the event, available through EventBrite, and $15 at the door.
CHERUBS-CDH is based in Wake Forest and was formed in 1995 by two parents to make the public aware of the prevalence of CDH, congenital diaphragmatic hernia, in babies – one in every 2,500 births – and support research in the treatment of the lung condition. There are 1,600 cases in the U.S. every year, and the cause is currently unknown.
The diaphragm is formed in the first trimester of pregnancy and controls the lungs’ ability to inhale and exhale. CDH occurs when the diaphragm fails to form or to close totally and an opening allows abdominal organs into the chest cavity. This inhibits lung growth.
Every patient diagnosed with CDH is different. Survival rates depend on the types and number of organs involved in the herniation and the amount of lung tissue available. There are many surgical procedures and complications that may or may not occur with each individual, including in utero surgery.
Roughly 50 percent of babies born with CDH do not survive. Of the 50 percnt that do survive, most will endure long hospital stays, feeding issues, asthma and other problems. A few of the survivors suffer from severe long-term medical issues.
CDH occurs as frequently as spina bifida and cystic fibrosis, yet there is very little research being done and virtually no media coverage.
