Team Isabella

We have been fortunate to be a part of something special.  In Kindergarten, Brooke met a little girl in her class named Isabella Martinez.  It just so happened that she lives only two houses away from us, and the girls became friends.  After several months, during which Isabella's health seemed to be deteriorating, the Martinez family received terrible news.  Isabella had a rare (and unknown to us) disease called Mitochondrial Disease.  It didn't look good.  Isabella has had to be hospitalized several times in the years following, and at one point lost her eyesight for a few days.  (Luckily, it has come back.)  Isabella is doing good right now, but it is like living with a ticking bomb... you never know when something will happen.  There is no cure right now.

The Dallas area had its first ever walk for Mito awareness last weekend.  We were all able to walk on Team Isabella (our family and Ciera's friend Katherine).  The walk was a great success, and the United Mitochondrial Disease Foundation raised more than their goal!  We love Isabella, and hope that she is around for a really long time!!