Subject: My son Jack
From: "Jim Mowrer" <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 17 Apr 2014 17:23:38 +0000

Dear Friend,

First off, I just want to thank you for all the support you have shown me during this campaign. But, today I am writing for a different reason. I wanted to share with you something personal that impacts my family.

This past November, a few days before Thanksgiving, my wife Chelsey and I received some devastating news. Our three-year-old son Jack was diagnosed with a serious and rare disease called Ataxia Telangiectasia (AT). There are only 300 or so Americans who are currently afflicted with this neuro-degenerative disease.

As we have researched and worked to understand what this all means, we have come to recognize how difficult this diagnosis will be for Jack and our family. Over the next few years, Jack will lose the ability to walk, develop slurred speech, and have trouble swallowing and breathing. You would never guess it based on how active (so very active) he is today, but it will happen.

This campaign has always been a family affair, and in December, Chelsey and I had a discussion about if continuing this campaign was right for us. We realized that this is why we got in this race in the first place and the campaign must go on.

Many families face difficult circumstances that are out of their control. I learned that when I was 7 and lost my father in a farming accident. It was Social Security survivor benefits that allowed my family to stay afloat.

We will face this together and one of the opportunities presented to us as a family was to work with the Make-a-Wish Foundation. This is a great group that does a lot for kids like Jack. This week, Chelsey, Carter, Jack and I are heading to Disney World. It was Jack's wish and will provide some wonderful memories. I hope you will consider making a donation to Make a Wish Foundation - the work they do is truly humbling. If you'd like to learn more about AT, visit the A-T Children's Project's home page or click here.

Thanks for your support in this campaign.

Jim

https://wish.org/ways-to-help/giving/donate
https://www.atcp.org/
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