Saturday, November 22, 2008

Pennies for Bella

My friends over at Sonny and Shear, Dana and Kris, blogged about a little girl in their church who has Hurler's Syndrome, named Isabella.

Isabella was diagnosed with Hurler’s Syndrome, a genetic disorder that prevents the body from properly storing mucopolysaccharides. The end result is organ damage, mental retardation from the resulting brain damage and a life expectancy of no more than 10 years. Bella is only 18 months old. That’s the bad news. The good news is that if Bella receives a bone marrow or umbilical cord stem cell transplant before she reaches age 2, much of the damage from Hurler’s can be prevented, Bella can have a greater quality of life and she may actually be able to avoid the brain damage that leads to mental retardation. While it isn’t a cure, a transplant can greatly change the outlook for Bella.

How can you help Bella? Visit Sonny and Shear's site, read more about Bella and see pictures of that beautiful little girl, then follow the links to PenniesforBella.org, click on the Chip In button and make a donation toward Bella’s care. (Or you can use the link in the righthand bar of my blog and go straight to Bella's site.)

Thank you!!

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