Hi friends, family, and loved ones. This is hard to type but I feel it's important and certainly worthwhile...
As many of you know, my mom, Donita Fueshko died on October 17th, 2023. I am apart of a fundraiser this fall to support research for CJD. To provide context for this, I wanted to share a bit of why I am doing this. Three years ago, it became clear to my family and I that my mom was not herself. It was quite sudden. My sister worked hard, along with my dad and my brother-in- law, to get testing done for my mom as her symptoms were very concerning. My mom's symptoms continued to progress and within a year, she went from being a full time homeschooling mother, taking her teenagers to sports practices, making meals daily, and staying in close contact with her adult children and friends to unexpectedly needing full time care just to get her basic needs met. Our family and our world flipped upside down and we didn't get many answers during that first year. My sister was determined to get answers however, and with the help of several professionals, we learned about a fatal neurodegenerative disease called Creutzfeldt Jakob Disease (CJD), a prion disease. My mom's symptoms, pattern of onset, and MRI scans matched up with what little information is known about CJD. After my mom died, an autopsy was done to confirm the disease. As a way to honor my mom and carry out her huge heart for others, some of us have chosen to participate in an upcoming fundraiser for CJD research and to help support individuals and their families impacted by this horrible disease. Please consider joining in with us by partnering financially. If you would like to attend the in person event in Denver on September 29th, please reach out to me. I would love to share information on this as well. We appreciate all your support.
With love,
Mikayla
A general summary of CJD's symptoms can be found here Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease | National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (nih.gov)