On September 24th, our friends and family are walking for MitoCanada in Charlie’s Memory. Leigh’s Syndrome is the mitochondrial condition that so cruelly stole Charlie from us.
The mitochondria are the powerhouses in our body and account for 90% of the functions required to sustain life in our body. In most cases exercise/movement is a huge part in maintaining healthy mitochondria. For those who are fighting mitochondrial diseases the movement is even more important. There are over 330 known primary mitochondrial conditions and thousands of other associated illnesses. They are multi-system. They do not discriminate and impact all parts of the body, they do not have a cure, and symptoms range from mild to fatal like Charlie’s.
MitoCanada provides funding for research and education, and acts as a hub to help connect MitoWarriors to practitioners that can treat mito symptoms and clinical trials. Right now there are a small handful of specialists with experience treating mitochondrial diseases. Charlie was diagnosed at the end of his life by one of the best internationally. Unfortunately the lack of knowledge of Mitochondrial diseases prevented Charlie from landing in Dr. Tarnopolsky’s care at the right time to hopefully have prolonged his life a few years.
Our hope is through awareness and funding MitoCanada can support specialists like Dr. Tarnopolsky in lifesaving research to treat MitoWarriors as well as help family practitioners, paediatricians and other specialists see the symptoms sooner to get MitoWarriors into the appropriate channels of care before it’s too late.
If you could make a donation or support us by committing to an hour of movement during the week of September 18-24 it would mean a great deal to our family. You can also join our team for fundraising and join us for the walk or walk where ever is home to you!
Much love xxx
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