Knoxville – International ambassadors frequently visit The White House, but on March 17, two young ambassadors from Tennessee will visit as representatives of over 17 million hospitalized children. Tony and David Restaino of Maryville will join 50 other young ambassadors and Grammy winner LeAnn Rimes during their visit to Washington, D.C.
Tony and David were selected as ambassadors because of their unique experiences with East Tennessee Children’s Hospital. At age 10, Tony started having problems with double vision. An avid diver, he struggled to focus on the board and the water; each dive became increasingly harder and more dangerous. After meeting with a pediatric neurologist, his parents decided to take Tony for an MRI. Though his identical twin David didn’t have any symptoms, pediatric neurosurgeon Dr. Lewis Harris requested that he have an MRI, too.
The diagnosis was shocking. Both boys had a chiari malformation, a condition in which the lowest part of the brain slips downward through the base of the skull into the upper spine. If left untreated, the condition can lead to neurological damage and paralysis. Dr. Harris recommended brain surgery. “We had no idea how it was going to turn out,” their mom Diane said.
Tony and David underwent surgery, spending four days at Children’s Hospital and a month recovering at home. Their six-week checkup confirmed the surgeries had been successful in moving the brain away from the spine. Today, these 12-year-old brothers are both nationally ranked divers.
As two of the children chosen from each of the 50 states – participating in a Children’s Miracle Network program called Foresters Champions Across America, the twin brothers will visit The White House and meet with U.S. Senators on Capital Hill.
“These children truly are champions,” said Rimes, who will accompany the children to Washington, D.C. “Each one deserves to be honored for their courage, determination and enthusiasm for life.”
In their situation with such a serious surgical procedure, Tony and David have not been alone. The twins were treated at East Tennessee Children’s Hospital, one of the 170 Children’s Miracle Network (CMN) children’s hospitals in the U.S. and Canada.
The Champions Across America program is sponsored by Foresters, a proud supporter of CMN. The Children’s Miracle Network, the alliance of premier hospitals for children, is a non-profit organization dedicated to saving and improving the lives of children by raising funds for children’s hospitals across North America. East year, the 170 CMN hospitals provide the finest medical care, life-saving research and preventative education to help millions of children overcome diseases and injuring of every kind. For more information, visit www.cmn.org.
For more information on Tony and David Restaino and their role as CMN Champions, contact the Community Relations Office at East Tennessee Children’s Hospital at (865) 541-8165.

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