On July 16, 2019 our family received an earth-shattering diagnoses for a beloved family member. My sister 'n law Dawn had sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD). She was a loving wife of 32 years to my older brother Billy, a mom to my 2 nieces & 2 nephews Tiffany, Josh, Brandy & Jacob and Mema to my great nieces & nephews Aubree, Jaxon, Bryce and Harper (whom she didn't get to meet here on earth). She cherished her family and loved spending time with them. Not only did she give selflessly to her family, she extended that to her work as a caregiver for all her patients. She was one of the most loving, caring, selfless, and beautiful woman that we were blessed to have in our lives.

That day we became Dawn's Army! We couldn't believe this devastating, rare, incurable disease could happen to her and we knew we had to become her warriors. We immediately got a second opinion and starting researching this rare, debilitating disease and realized there was no hope of saving her. Her family was by her side until she left this world on August 20, 2019 and our fight for her will continue until we can find a cure.

Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD) is a degenerative brain disorder that leads to dementia and ultimately death. Initial signs and symptoms typically include personality changes, anxiety, depression, memory loss, impaired thinking, difficulty speaking and/or swallowing and jerky movements. Worldwide there is only one case diagnosed per million people each year.