Township Raises Flag for Hydrocephalus Awareness

Woodbridge Township raised a flag last week for another year of solidarity in awareness of the condition known as Hydrocephalus.

At the August 20 Township Council meeting, mayor John McCormac said September 2013 is National Hydrocephalus Awareness Month in Woodbridge.

Hydrocephalus is an "incurable brain condition that affects one in 500 newborns and over a million Americans today," said Mike Illions of the Pediatric Hydrocephalus Foundation.

Illions founded the volunteer nonprofit with his wife, Kim for their son, Cole.

The disorder cannot be cured, but can be treated with the insertion of a shunt, which requires brain surgeries, Illions said.

The organization began here in New Jersey in 2009, and has since spread to 35 state chapters around the U.S. and one in Africa, he said.

A hospital in Haiti has also been named in their honor, he said.

Locally, the foundation will host the PHF Walk and Family Fun Day from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 7 at Roosevelt Park in Edison.

At 10 a.m. October 5, "The 2nd Annual Mayor John E. McCormac Mini-Golf Family Fun Day for Hydrocephalus Awareness" will also be held to benefit the organization. The fundraiser will be held at Skyline Mini-Golf at the Arenas at Woodbridge.

For more information on the Pediatric Hydrocephalus Foundation, visit www.hydrocephaluskids.org.