There were only five short weeks from when we first realized something was wrong until my Mom, Kathi Rutkowski's, untimely passing. It all started when a fellow teacher sent Kathi home after she accidentally sat a student with a PB& sandwich next to a student with a peanut allergy. This uncharacteristic mistake in her 25-year career led to a doctor's appointment where she got an MRI that came back with three potential causes Meningitis, Encephalitis or Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD).

Within weeks my mom lost her ability to speak. She started having hallucinations. She struggled with walking. She wasn't able to dress herself or take a shower. She stopped using the bathroom and had to wear adult diapers. Eventually she was 100% reliant on the hospice nurses.

She stopped eating and was unable to drink or take her medications. She passed away on April 2, 2014 after slipping into a coma. 

An autopsy confirmed that Kathi had sporadic CJD. CJD is a rare neurodegenerative disease that has no treatment or cure. The incidence of CJD is approximately one and half to two people per million per population per year. In the United States this translates to approximately 550-600 new cases per year.

Please consider donating so one day we can hopefully have treatment and ultimately a cure for CJD! 

To donate to my personal fundraising page, text STRIDES2023 to 50155. 

Donations of $250 and above are considered sponsorships.

Sponsorship Levels:

• Premier: $20,000
• Diamond: $10,000
• Platinum: $5,000
• Gold: $1,000
• Silver: $500
• Bronze: $250

Premier, Diamond, and Platinum Sponsors will have their name or logo displayed on participant t-shirts, the Strides for CJD website, and signage. Gold Sponsors will have their name or logo displayed on the Strides for CJD website, and will have their name (not their logo) listed on participant T-shirts and signage. Silver and Bronze Sponsors will have their name listed on the Strides for CJD website only.