The Posada Family Steps Up to the Plate

June 25, 2007 -- Jorge Posada of the New York Yankees is usually known for his heroics on the baseball field. But when his son, Jorge Jr., was diagnosed with a congenital birth defect at 10 days old, he quickly became a hero off the field as well.

The all-star catcher and his wife, Laura, were shocked when they learned that their first-born was afflicted with a little-known condition called craniosynostosis, which "is a deformity of the bones in the skull [where] they fuse before the brain grows. If the bones are [fused] together, obviously the brain is growing abnormally [and] the skull is growing abnormally," said Posada.

The Posadas were devastated because they did not know anything was wrong with their child before he was born.

"You can't detect it inside the womb," Posada told ABC News Now at New York's Yankee Stadium. "[Craniosynostosis] was our shocking news when we first saw him for the first time."

Posada had already planned to start some type of philanthropic organization for kids before Jorge Junior arrived, and his son inspired him to create a foundation with a mission of raising awareness of the condition that changed their lives.

"We wanted to give back. I didn't know what I wanted to do, but I knew I wanted to do something with kids. As soon as Jorge was born with craniosynostosis, it was like a sign from heaven. You know, you've got to help out kids that have the same condition," Posada said.

Helping Families in Similar Situations

Today, the Jorge Posada Foundation is run by Jorge and Laura and provides support to families who have children with craniosynostosis, many of whom have to endure long and dangerous surgeries to correct their skull. Jorge Posada Jr. is just 7 years old and has already had eight surgeries.

According to Laura, going through several major surgeries can drain a family's financial and emotional strength.

"A lot of these surgeries are covered by insurance because it's imperative that the kids have the surgeries or if not, they are going to have brain damage. But there are other areas in which the kids need help and some of these are emotional support, and that's where the foundation comes in," she said.

"We have a mentors program where the families can call us and we connect them to other families that have been through the same situation so that they can hear from another parent that everything's going to be all right, that there is light at the end of the tunnel, and that although it might seem like it's the end of the world that they are going to be all right."

With the support of his family and his friends in the foundation, Jorge Junior has just endured what the Posada's hope to be his final major surgery. At the foundation's Heroes for Hope Gala, held earlier this month, he was able to stand on the podium and address the entire crowd.

"I want to thank you all for being here tonight, and I want you to have a good night," he told the audience to an uproar of cheers.

"He's very brave. At 7 years old he grabbed the microphone and told everybody that he's doing fine and let everyone know [the gala] is for the kids who've got craniosynostosis," Posada said about his son's speech. "Kids who've got the condition look up to him already, so it was good that he came up and told us to go out there and have fun. That was probably the brightest moment of the night."

The entire Posada family hopes that the foundation and son can provide a good example for all families, not just those with children with craniosynostosis.

"We want to teach our children that it's always good to help other people and to keep giving back, because if everyone teaches their children about compassion and philanthropy, I think the world is going to be a better place and our family can be an example for that," Laura Posada said.

For more information about craniosynostosis, please contact the Jorge Posada Foundation at www.jorgeposada.com or 866-823-8005.