Many of you are aware that my Mom battled a devasating neurological disease called Creutzfeld-Jacob Disease, better known as CJD.  She pass on March 9, 2019. This disease wreaked havoc on her brain and devastated our family.

After several months of noticeable confusion, unexplained weight loss, and tiredness, Mom experienced a stroke-like episode in December 2017 that landed her in the hospital. Something was seriously off and it took 7 months and countless doctor appointments and tests (all normal) before we received a diagnosis of CJD in June 2018. A disease known to strike "one in a million" and, most often, at random. We were heartbroken and completely at a loss.

This disease is ugly - it steals your loved one away from you bit by bit;  in a Benjamin Button type progression.  We lived every day to the fullest and enjoyed every moment we could with our sweet Mom. She always made me laugh, even when she was no longer able to communicate verbally;  she raised her eyebrows at me and I knew exactly what she was saying :)  Such a brave warrior she was!

Mom may have lost her battle, but we, her family, will continue to press on in the war against CJD. It is our goal to fund one (or multiple) research grants to further study this horrible disease. So much more needs to be done to understand this disease (how did this happen? where? when?). There are currently no treatments to slow down or reverse the progression. It is our hope that a cure will be found soon so that other families will not have to watch the light of their loved one be extinguished.