Baby Valor: One of Many Sweet Reasons for the Cordova Mall Ball

Baby Valor: One of Many Sweet Reasons for the Cordova Mall Ball Baby-boy Valor Ervin made his entrance into the world last July in a smooth delivery following his mother’s healthy, full-term pregnancy. But the first week of his life was nothing short of eventful.

Two hours after he was born, his parents noticed he had turned blue. He was rushed to the nursery, put on oxygen and transferred to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) of The Studer Family Children’s Hospital at Sacred Heart in one of the hospital’s neonatal transport ambulances.

During delivery, Valor had aspirated, and his lungs had filled with his mother’s blood. In response, Valor’s body reverted back to fetal circulation —  in other words, trying to breathe the same way he had in the womb.

“As horrifying as the experience was, we were so glad to be at Sacred Heart,” said Valor’s mother, Chandler Anderson. “The doctors and nurses in the NICU were incredibly empathetic, explained our situation so well and never got impatient with how many questions we asked. We were amazed by the care they provide every single day.”

Valor was put on a ventilator and treated for persistent pulmonary hypertension. After a week in the NICU, he was able to go home to his parents and two older sisters.

Babies like Valor are alive and healthy today, thanks to The Studer Family Children’s Hospital at Sacred Heart, which offers Northwest Florida’s only Level III NICU. The hospital will be the beneficiary of funds raised at the 22nd Annual Cordova Mall Ball on Saturday, Jan. 28, from 8 p.m. to midnight at Cordova Mall in Pensacola. The event is coordinated by the Krewe of Les Petits Enfants (Order of the Small Children) and presented by Wendy’s.

Bands scheduled to perform are Mass Kunfuzion, Starz and The Astronauts. The event includes food sampling, several beverage stations and a silent auction featuring a signed guitar, jewelry, art, golf packages and more. A New Orleans-style French Market with jazz music, facepainting and a fortune teller will be available, as well as novelties for purchase including Mardi Gras masks, Tervis tumblers and koozies.   New this year is the opportunity to purchase tickets online at www.cordovamallball.com Individual tickets are available. Tickets are $60 per person in advance; $65 per person at the door. You may purchase a chair at a Community Table in the band areas. Individual Community Table tickets are $70 each. There are a limited number of these particular tickets available. After Jan. 9, 2017, prices increase to $65 for single tickets. You must be 21 or older to attend, and IDs will be checked at the door. Dress is masquerade or black tie optional (no denim). Every year, Cordova Mall closes early to allow volunteers to set up for the event, an expression of mall officials’ and shop owners’ dedication to the health of our community’s children. Last year, the Cordova Mall Ball raised a total of $447,000. Net proceeds went toward the construction of the new children’s hospital. During the past 21 years, the event has generated more than $4.5 million on behalf of sick and injured children at The Studer Family Children’s Hospital at Sacred Heart, a hospital dedicated to the care of children for more than 47 years. It is the only pediatric facility in the region.

For more information, or to purchase Cordova Mall Ball tickets, call Sacred Heart Foundation, 850-416-7415 or visit www.cordovamallball.com.

About The Studer Family Children’s Hospital at Sacred Heart

The Studer Family Children’s Hospital at Sacred Heart is a 117-bed facility that serves as the only children’s hospital in Northwest Florida. The Children’s Hospital offers a wide range of services to meet all of a child’s medical needs, from a pediatric emergency room and neonatal intensive care unit to a medical staff of more than 120 board-certified physicians across 29 pediatric specialties. The Children’s Hospital provides quality, compassionate care to children, regardless of their parents’ ability to pay. Sacred Heart Health System is a member of Ascension, the largest non-profit health system in the U.S. and the world’s largest Catholic health system. For more information about the services available at The Studer Family Children’s Hospital at Sacred Heart, visit www.sacred-heart.org/childrenshospital.

About Ascension

Ascension (www.ascension.org) is a faith-based healthcare organization dedicated to transformation through innovation across the continuum of care. As the largest non-profit health system in the U.S. and the world’s largest Catholic health system, Ascension is committed to delivering compassionate, personalized care to all, with special attention to persons living in poverty and those most vulnerable. In FY2016, Ascension provided more than $1.8 billion in care of persons living in poverty and other community benefit programs. Ascension includes approximately 150,000 associates and 36,000 aligned providers. Ascension’s Healthcare Division operates 2,500 sites of care – including 141 hospitals and more than 30 senior living facilities – in 24 states and the District of Columbia, while its Solutions Division provides a variety of services and solutions including physician practice management, venture capital investing, investment management, biomedical engineering, facilities management, clinical care management, information services, risk management, and contracting through Ascension’s own group purchasing organization.