New Goals

The shock of Katie's diagnosis hit us immediately and though we are still quite stunned, our feelings have turned to sadness and even anger. If you know me at all, then you know I am not at all into feeling that way. Last evening I remembered that my friend Stacey, a friends that I made through the wonderful world of adoption sent me a website to bookmark in case of such a diagnosis. She was kind enough to share with me the story of her uncles who suffered from the same hereditary affliction that robbed them all of their sight. I looked at it a few times while I was waiting and saw that it held a wealth of info but put it aside until we were were given the diagnosis this past Wednesday. The Foundation Fighting Blindness has a mission statement on their site...it is the following:

The urgent mission of the Foundation Fighting Blindness, Inc. is to drive the research that will provide preventions, treatments and cures for people affected by retinitis pigmentosa (RP), macular degeneration, Usher syndrome, and the entire spectrum of retinal degenerative diseases.

Katie's disease is Cone-Rod Dystrophy which falls under this umbrella of Retinitis Pigmentosa, a group of horrible hereditary diseases.

As I looked again at the website, I discovered something that I had not seen the first few times that I looked and that was a way for me and for my friends far and wide to not only help Katie Starr but any person who may be left totally in the dark due to a hereditary eye disease. The foundation holds 5K walks all over the country on different dates and the South Florida walk is October 23rd at 10:00 am in Fort Lauderdale. I have put together a team and in one day not only do we have people joining us to walk in solidarity but also almost $2,000.00 in donations.

I have two goals in the forefront of my mind now.

The first one is to raise awareness and money to help fund the cutting edge scientific research that will surely one day bring about treatments and even a cure.

The second one is to assist our daughter with developing her mind's eye. We are going to expose her to as much as possible during this time that she has most of her sight still intact. In case a cure is not found in time, I want her to be able to tap into her memory resources. It will help her to form the mental pictures that will enhance her life. I have not developed that plan as of yet and I am sure it will be a work in progress. I really want to bring her back to China as soon as it is financially possible for us. We will make that happen....no doubt!

I ask you to join with us on our first goal and please share this information with others. Please link back to this site so that your friends can read our story. Please facebook the info if you will and feel free to friend me if you choose to do so. Please comment that you would like to be my friend and I will give you my full name if you do not already know it. You can also share it on any online forums that you are a member of. Together, we can meet this goal. The goal will surely be met in our lifetime but we need it to happen quickly for Katie Starr

This could have been any one's child. It has happened to our child though so I am asking for you to help us.

You can make a donation of ANY amount at the following link: TEAM KATIE STARR

I also invite you to check out GuideStar that will allow you to verify this charity.

Thank you to all that will not just read this and think "That poor little girl" but the ones that will share this with others and give even a dollar to help. You are our heros!!

With gratitude,