Miracle workers
to the rescue

By Tom Waring
Times Staff Writer

C.J. Felthaus was honored that Children’s Miracle Network chose him to do a good deed for other young people.
The 14-year-old from West Mayfair joined Philadelphia KiXX midfielder Dave Castellanos last week on a shopping spree at the Wal-Mart in Bensalem. Two shopping carts full of toys, games, movies, books and other items picked off the shelves by the teenager and the soccer player were donated to Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
C.J. thinks the goods will come in handy for the hospital patients.
"The kids will have more stuff to do until they’re healthy enough to get out," he said.
The teen knows how those patients feel. He’s a hemophiliac who has spent time at CHOP.
Hemophilia is a hereditary disorder, generally in males, in which one of the normal blood-clotting factors is deficient, causing serious internal or external hemorrhage from minor cuts and injuries.
In C.J.’s case, he has been taking injections for 10 years to help his blood clot. Last summer, he learned to administer the injections himself. He injects himself every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday in either his hand or arm and will cope with the illness the rest of his life.
The boy looks and feels healthy.
"I don’t make many trips to the hospital, only if I have bad injuries," he said.
Over the years, he has had some scares. He’s suffered two broken arms, once when he fell down a flight of stairs and another when he had a bad landing after jumping. He’s also experienced some head trauma. He said the CHOP staff has always made his stays bearable.
Today, he sits on the hospital’s youth advisory council. He’s an eighth-grader at St. Matthew School and an honors student. He plays first base for the baseball teams and guard for the basketball teams at school and for the Holy Terrors Youth Organization.
He’ll attend Father Judge High School in September.
On the afternoon of May 31, he lived any kid’s dream — picking out items in a store’s toy department, with a Wal-Mart gift card taking care of the expense.
"It’s great that they’re helping out kids in need," he said of the department store chain.
The shopping spree was coordinated with the 20th anniversary of a partnership between Children’s Miracle Network and Wal-Mart. For two decades, shoppers who have purchased paper miracle balloons at Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club have supported 174 medical facilities in North America.
The Wal-Mart in Bensalem raised about $10,000 in 2006. It was one of 20 locations across the country that hosted a shopping spree to benefit a hospital. Customers ate cake and donated money to get an autograph and picture with Castellanos, who brought the KiXX’s Major Indoor Soccer League championship trophy.
"It’s been a great partnership in raising money," said Frank Nardone, co-manager of the Bensalem Wal-Mart.
Robin Valentino, development director for the Children’s Hospital Foundation’s Children’s Miracle Network outreach, explained that CMN has raised about $400 million for pediatric hospitals in North America. The $475,000 raised last year by local Wal-Mart stores and their customers went to uninsured needs of CHOP patients and their families.
Valentino said the late Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton was glad to team with Children’s Miracle Network because the charity is particular about choosing its partner hospitals.
"No child is ever turned away from a CMN-member hospital," she said.
C.J., whose given name is Charles Joseph, lives on Wellington Street and is the youngest of three boys of Chuck and Pat Felthaus. His mom remembers that he had to wear a helmet and kneepads when he was younger to protect against any internal bleeding.
While he is active in baseball and basketball, he cannot play tackle football or other contact sports.
Pat Felthaus is proud that her son decided to give back to CHOP by taking part in the shopping spree. She said that’s the kind of positive approach he’s taken to the disorder.
"He does well with it," she said. "It takes a special kind of child to handle any kind of illness."
As C.J. and Castellanos selected items to purchase, CHOP child life specialist Jennifer Tudor used a calculator to keep a running total of the cost.
Tudor said the gifts are part of the therapeutic process for CHOP patients.
"Socializing, playing and doing the things they normally do at home gets them out of bed quicker," she said.
C.J. selected PlayStation games, batteries, arts and crafts, model cars and DVDs, including Philadelphia favorite Invincible. He also chose FIFA 2007, a soccer video game to Castellanos’ liking. He was also given the option of picking one item for himself, and he went home with the PlayStation boxing game.
The cashier rung up a bill of $1,199.15, a little more than the $1,000 limit, but Wal-Mart didn’t mind.
Castellanos and the KiXX do a lot of charity work, including visiting patients at CHOP. The athlete said he enjoys the visits and looks forward to his next trip to the hospital and its newly stocked playroom.
"All these toys and books will definitely go to good use," he said. ••
Reporter Tom Waring can be reached at 215-354-3034 or twaring@phillynews.com