For those of you who do not know Jean Ashner, she is a tireless supporter of her children and has worked hard to help provide them with various summer sporting activities offered through the OAA and schools. She has been a fixture at soccer pitches, wrestling practices and tournaments, and baseball and softball diamonds for as long as I can recall.

We have watched as her family has grown. Her eldest child, a son now graduated, was a state qualifier for the Dutchmen wrestling team. A daughter is running cross country now as a freshman for the high school team. The younger siblings were often seen tagging along at various meets and tournaments for the older children.

We watched as Jean prepared for the birth of the family’s ninth child.

Sadly, a son, Luke, would live just a little over 18 hours following his birth this past summer. A congenital defect in the development of his diaphragm would claim him on his birthday.

Jean said she worked to overcame the loss of her young by researching his illness. She found a web site (http://breath-of-hope.blogspot.com/) which helped explain this malady and offered support for families who have either lost children due to it or who were coping with the medical issues associated with repairing the damage.

She wrote to Governor Matt Blunt who has declared Monday, March 31, 2008, as Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia Awareness Day. Jean recently:

“As you know, this past June, I gave birth to our ninth child/sixth son. You most probably also know that after 18 hours and 23 minutes, Luke passed away. What you most probably didn’t know is that Luke was born with a congenital diaphragmatic hernia birth defect which is a defect involving the diaphragm not forming properly or at all and allowing the abdominal organs to herniate into the chest cavity, causing the lungs to be underdeveloped or malformed and causing the heart to be pushed midline or even far to the right. This defect occurs as often as cystic fibrosis and spina bifida but is not well known. Luke was given, at best, a 50/50 chance of survival at the diagnosis during a routine 20-week ultrasound in January 2007. His chances went down further and further as they discovered that his stomach, intestines and entire liver was up in his chest and his lungs were not able to develop at all. Through Luke’s journey, I found a terrific Internet site dedicated to support and information about CDH (congenital diaphragmatic hernia) called Breath of Hope. BoH (Breath of Hope) is a non-profit organization based out of Virginia that has started a national campaign to get March 31, 2008, declared as Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia Awareness Day.”

She is asking that family and friends wear turquoise “in honor of all CDH survivors and angels and soon-to-be’s.”

It will be a fitting tribute for a family we’ve enjoyed for so many years.