Message from Mom
Letters from Mom
May 11, 2010
Dear Mothers,
Before Bertrand, I always assumed that it was thanks to mothers that there were children. Now I know that it is really thanks to children that there are mothers. To me, that distinction is an important one. Motherhood is not about being the center of a child's world, but rather about having a child at the center of yours.
It is safe to say that Bertrand is at the center of more than just my world. As grandmothers, great-aunts and aunts, I know you share in the pain of Bertrand's continued suffering and the uncertainty of his situation. So, our mothers' day gift to you (and myself) this year is particularly meaningful: a $1000.00 donation to the Bertrand Might Fund for the University of Utah Rapid DNA Sequencing Center. We hope this gift is the first step in obtaining answers for mothers everywhere and, someday, cures for their children.
The University of Utah Rapid DNA Sequencing Center is the first of it's kind in the world. Imagine if Bertrand had been able to avoid the scarring of his veins from getting 4 pints of blood (the equivalent blood in 16 newborn babies) drawn over the past two years. Imagine if Bertrand could've avoided the over $50,000.00 in genetic tests he's had with just one $5,000 rapid DNA sequencing test. This is the opportunity the center providing to other children in Bertrand's situation, one of suspected genetic disease. And as for Bertrand? We hope that with additional contributions to his fund, he will be one of the first "test" cases for the Rapid DNA Sequencing Center when it opens in September 2010.
Combined with the testing of Matthew and myself, geneticists may be able to determine where Bertrand's genome differs from ours or how it fits within existing genetic disease frameworks. We may finally receive answers: answers that could help us plan for Bertrand's future as well as our own.
That I may be finally able to plan for the future of my precious child (and that he may even have a future!) would be a priceless gift--one we would all enjoy and one that Bertrand certainly deserves.
Happy mothers' day!