Wednesday, July 26, 2006

Fundraiser for a great little girl

A mother's intuition & stubbornness helped lead Margaret Abernethy find the cause of her third child's lethargy and difficultly eating.

Doctors dismissed Caitlin's behavior on a milk allergy and suggested soy milk as a solution.

However, at one particular visit to the hospital, because of Caitlin's weight loss, her mom refused to leave until the cause of Caitlin's medical problems was determined.

After a series of tests the diagnosis was..."cystic fibrosis, a genetic disorder that causes the body to produce a faulty protein that leads to abnormally thick, sticky mucus that clogs the lungs and can result in fatal lung infections."

This was over a decade ago, and now this brave 13 year old, who is a little small for her age, needs lots of medication, physiotherapy 4 times day, needs some help from her community.

In order to help clear her lungs of mucus, which leads to infections and hospitalization and to help Caitlin attend school (she missed 74 days last year) she needs a special vest that cost $18,000 and is not covered by OHIP.

So, her family and friends are raising money for her. Here are the details about the fundraiser... Caitlin's family will hold a barbecue and charity auction to raise money for the vest this Saturday July 29 from 1 - 4 p.m.

There are a wide range of prizes to bid on plus raffles, games and a waterslide. The fundraiser will be held at 146 Gormley Rd. West (Stouffville Road and Leslie Street). All are invited and all proceeds will go to the Caitlin Fund to buy the therapeutic vest. Cash donations also accepted at TD/Canada Trust account # 1984 623 8320. Also, if you can't make it and would like to help, you can send PayPal funds to York Region Baby and we will make sure that this special little girl receives the money. When sending funds please use Caitlin as subject.

Thanks to York Region.com for the tip. To read the article as published on York Region.com, click here.