Children’s Miracle Network spotlights local families during annual celebrity golf fundraiser

DETROIT — Celebrities converged upon the Detroit Golf Club for the fourth annual Feldman Automotive Children’s Miracle Network Celebrity Invitational Aug. 26.

The fundraising event, started by Jay Feldman, of Feldman Automotive, and his business partner, actor Mark Wahlberg, raised approximately $1.5 million for Children’s Miracle Network programming at Corewell Health Children’s and the Mark Wahlberg Youth Foundation.

“For me, the best part is just the thrill of giving back,” said Feldman. “The fact that over 200,000 kids are being affected in southeast Michigan by our cause is mindblowing.”

During the event, a few select children and their families who have been aided by the Children’s Miracle Network got a taste of the limelight and a chance to hang out with celebrities. The children, known as “Miracle Kids,” are ambassadors for what the Children’s Miracle Network and the fundraiser do in southeast Michigan.

Siblings Braylen, 12, and Rylee Watson, 10, of Southfield, are two such Miracle Kids, who truly exemplify what the program does for children. Braylen was diagnosed with expressive language disorder in 2016 and Rylee was diagnosed with both receptive and expressive language disorder in 2018. The disorders caused the siblings to have difficulty with everyday communication and resulted in them having difficulty making friends and often being teased by other children. Their mother, Fran Watson, said she didn’t hear Braylen say “Mom” until he was almost 3 1/2 years old. However, through years of speech therapy and communicative preschool,  provided by Children’s Miracle Network, both children now have greatly improved communication and coping skills.

“That’s why I’m so appreciative of the foundation and their services, because as a mom, we’re solely able to just focus on our kid without the stresses of, like, How am I going to pay for this?’” Fran Watson said.

The Watson siblings, along with their mom, have been ambassadors for the program for the last three years and have even established a friendship with Mark Wahlberg, whom they rrefer to as their “Bestie.”

“It’s fun,” Rylee said of the event. “It’s fun and I get to see my best friend there.”

When asked who her best friend is, she promptly replied, “Mark.”

Braylen said the best part of the event is the breakfast. He said he really liked the bacon and eggs.

Fran Watson said she is very appreciative of the foundation, because it meant so much to hear her son speak her name.

“I think a lot of people don’t really take in how important the voice is, so just to hear him say, “Mom,” and to hear her now speak so freely and be so outgoing, it means a lot,” Fran Watson said.

“Now that I can speak clearly, I’m having conversations with my parents and talk to friends and cousins and people that are related to me,” Rylee said. “Now I can speak clearly, and now I can speak words like I’m doing now.”

“It made me feel good, strong and they was helping me,” Braylen said of his experience with Children’s Miracle Network.

Fran Watson has attended the event for three years and says she just enjoys being able to walk around and tell their story in an effort to help raise funds for the foundation.

“To me, this event is a powerful steppingstone to helping families in need,” she said. “You never know who may need the help or what child is going through what. So it’s a very good opportunity just to create awareness to other families who may need that help. That help is there if needed.”

One-year-old Everett LaBrash, of Sterling Heights, was also named a Miracle Kid. Everett was born premature and began his life on a CPAP machine to regulate his oxygen and help with breathing. Later he developed pneumothorax, which led to him being placed on a ventilator to assist with breathing. In spite of a long respiratory journey ahead of him, Everatt was able to come home with his parents, Alex and Marianne LaBrash, thanks to the staff at Troy Beaumont and the assistance of the Children’s Miracle Network.

According to his father, Everett’s biggest setback was not so much his lungs but rather the delays in development as a result of being a preemie.

“He’s quite normal now. He’s caught up in a lot of ways,” Alex LaBrash said. “He’s pretty much where he should be, where his real age is verses his adjusted age. The only thing he is not doing is walking, but he is completely in line with what his adjusted age should be.”

The LaBrashes chose to be a miracle family with the encouragement of the staff at the hospital.

“We’ve been really grateful to kind of share his story and see how his story can benefit future families,” said Marianne LaBrash.

She said it was really cool to meet the Wahlberg family. She said she told Donnie Wahlberg, of New Kids on the Block, that her mom was a big fan, and Donnie Wahlberg actually took her phone and recorded a video for her mom. Paul Wahberg gave Alex a hug, she said.

“It was just really cool to be able to meet them,” Marianne LaBrash said.

Donnie Wahlburg said he drove in on a “bumpy” tour bus immediately following  his last performance on  the “Magic Summer Tour” with NKOTB in Indianapolis Aug. 25. He said the golf fundraiser is a great event, so when his brother — who was not able to attend the event this year, as he was filming in Australia — asked him to fill in for him, he said he couldn’t say no. He said his goal was to have a good time and raise money for the kids of southeast Michigan.

“I don’t know what better I could be associated with than people that give back and care about their community. That speaks to my heart. That’s how I try to live my life. Detroit’s a city of fighters and who never give up and keep fighting back, and again that speaks to me and my childhood and my life,” Donnie Wahlberg said. “When you got people who love this community and are willing to do what they can, sacrifice their time and their resources to it, that’s something I want to be part of.”

During the event, the Miracle Kids got to participate in a putt-off with Donnie Wahlberg, which Braylen Watson won. Everett was able to show off his skills by hanging onto and eventually tossing the ball into the hole.

The Wahlberg family then surprised Fran Watson with the Alma Wahlberg Award. The award is presented annually during the event to a parent of a Miracle Kid honoring them for all their support.

“That award caught me completely off guard. I was beyond surprised. It meant a lot because I knew how much they cared about their mom,” Fran Watson said. “So, to be presented with an award that is named after her, it means a lot. It lets you know that all your hard work is not going unnoticed as a mother.”

She said the award sits on a shelf in her dining room area where she can see it every day when she walks past it.

Following the award presentation, the celebrities and other participants took to the course. The event also included a raffle for various prizes, and other activities.