Purchase a shirt to help us raise money for The Children Tumor Foundation and Neurofibromatosis. All funds raised will go directly to Team Cure NF. If we reach 35 shirts sold we will earn $145.
Shirts will be delivered directly to you approximately 2 weeks after the close date.
Natalie is a joyful, affectionate, exuberant three year old who loves trains, dinosaurs, finger painting - and playing chase. Playing chase with Natalie is especially poignant to us as her parents because when Natalie was diagnosed with NF at four and a half months, it was due to a severe tibial bowing of her leg, and she has worn either a cast or a brace ever since. Last year, she had three surgeries on her leg, wore an immobilizing cast from her chest to her toes for five and a half months, wore an Ilizarov apparatus for three and a half months, and had additional bracing or casting for the remainder of the year. At the beginning of this year, she had another surgery on her leg, and, this spring, she learned to walk for the third time. Her incredible resiliency and bright spirit are an inspiration to everyone she meets.We chose to name our team TEAM CURE NF because we are so humbled by the incredible children and families we have met who are affected by NF.
NF stands for Neurofibromatosis, the name for a group of genetic disorders that cause tumors to grow on the nerves anywhere in the body. There is currently neither a treatment nor a cure for NF, but the Children's Tumor Foundation is actively working to change that by leading, facilitating, and funding research for effective treatments or a cure for NF. Before Natalie was diagnosed, we had never even heard of NF, despite it being so very common. The members of TEAM CURE NF are committed to helping find effective treatments or a cure for all people who are affected by NF and, as Natalie's parents, we want to do everything in our power to help find effective treatments or a cure for NF.
We greatly appreciate your contribution and will match every donation, made CTF through TEAM CURE NF, up to $20,000. If you would like to participate in the Los Angeles CTF walk, we would love to see you at this fun-filled event! The LA Walk itself will be on October 20th at the CBS Studio in Studio City. The address is:CBS Studio Center, 4024 Radford Avenue, Los Angeles, CA, 91604Kids can come in their Halloween costumes if they'd like to, Lululemon is sending a yoga instructor do to a little warm up yoga before the walk begins, Coffee Bean, Bread Hot Mama, and Delightfully Delicious will all be there selling coffee and hot chocolates, coffee cake and candy apples respectively - and all of those sales will also have a portion that goes back to CTF for research - plus there will be plenty of free donated snacks, cookies, etc. Lowe's will be there again this year and will have an activity for the kids to build, there will be trick or treating throughout the event and a kid zone with pumpkin decorating, face painting, pirates, cotton candy, and much more. Additionally, we'll have the raffle and some fabulous silent auction items, so it should be a day of fun for everyone.
For more information about the event itself, please click here. If you cannot make a donation to CTF this year or attend the event, you can still help us immensely by writing a letter to your senators and asking them to sustain funding for NF research. A template letter is available here.
To learn more about NF and the Children's Tumor Foundation, please visit www.CTF.org.
Thank you so very much for your support. It truly means the world to our family -and to all families affected by NF.
With love and gratitude,Michael, Kelly and Natalie
Supporters