On January 6th, Michael Walsh, was rushed to the hospital with symptoms resembling a stroke. Over the following weeks, multiple tests—including MRIs and blood work—were performed to rule out other conditions. Despite these efforts, our family was left without a clear diagnosis.

Unfortunately no early doctor suspected prion disease. After finally seeing a Neurologist, they began to suspect, and after further testing, it was confirmed that our dad had Prion Sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD). This rare and rapidly progressing disease causes severe dementia and, tragically, has no treatment or cure. Our father’s symptoms had started subtly months before—blurry vision, loss of balance, and forgetfulness—which was misdiagnosed as vertigo and aging. It wasn’t until the swift progression of his illness that we realized it was something much more serious.

On April 20th, Easter morning, he passed in his sleep with his wife by his side. Our family is heartbroken by his loss, but we also want to honor his memory by supporting awareness and research for prion diseases. We hope that, through this fundraiser, we can contribute to advancing understanding, early detection, and potential treatments for CJD and other prion-related conditions.

Every donation will help support vital research into prion diseases, providing hope for the future and helping to prevent other families from facing what we did.

Thank you for your support in remembering Michael T Walsh and helping make a difference.