To us, Julie Galassi was the Crown Jewels of the family. She was the energy in the room, the creative soul, the joyful spirit, the light. It was just a councidence that she had the nickname 'Jewels' from childhood and had an affinity for crowns. 
 

In the winter of 25-26, she started experiencing some vision troubles and some minor balance concerns. They continued to progress as we worked through test after test and false diagnosis after false diagnosis.  The Cleveland Clinic's ER was the first place to mention CJD as a possible diagnosis, in mid-April. 
 

To our family's horror, we lost Jewels 16 days after hearing the term CJD for the first time. Her positive CJD results coming in 4 days before her death. 
 

Today, we are committed to helping the CJD Foundation fundraise to support research for time. Time for diagnosis. Time for theraputics. Time for families. And when the reality of CJD sets in, time for the families to have access to support and education about CJD, caregiving, and afterwards. 
 

We thank you for your support.