Never In My Wildest Dreams....

When Will was diagnosed three years ago, we sat numbly in a patient room crying. I don't even know how we drove home. Neil and I spent many many days crying and clinging to Will, clinging to each other in grief. 

Never in my wildest dreams did I think three years later we would be making a real difference to help children like Will. 

Two years ago some of our friends came together and said, "we want to establish a non-profit to help Will." It all came together so quickly and People Against Leigh's Syndrome (PALS) was formed. 

PALS seek to build awareness of this unknown disease and support efforts that would lead to discover a treatment or a cure.

Currently, PALS is working in partnership with the Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital to support the UT Mitochondrial Center of Excellence through a special PALS fund set up at the Memorial Hermann Foundation.

The UT Mitochondrial Center of Excellence is led by Dr. Mary Kay Koenig and provides cutting edge medical care to individuals affected by neurometabolic and mitochondrial disorders. Additionally, Dr. Koenig treats the world’s largest homogenous Leigh syndrome population in the world.. 

We hosted our first event last May and raised nearly $35,000. This was an amazing accomplishment and it has continued on. 

Just a few short weeks ago, we hosted our second PALS event and it raised about $95,000. Each person that gave money, time and support just helped make a real difference. 

The list of people to thank is long, from sponsors to silent auction contributors as well as each person who gave their time and talents to make this event happen. 

The person I really want to thank is my son, my hero and my inspiration to making every day a good day. He is the reason why we are all able to be part of something amazing. 

(Yes, he is wearing a safari hat in Staples) 

If you'd like to make a donation to PALS to support the UT Mitochondrial Center of Excellence at Children's Memorial Herman, here is a link to donate:  http://www.memorialhermann.org/give-volunteer/foundation/pals/  (it takes a minute to fully load). 

I can't wait to see what next year brings!