Lorelei has mitochondrial disease.
Prior to six months ago, the only time I had ever heard the word “mitochondria” was when I made a styrofoam cell for homework in my 10th grade bio class. Funny thing is, my mom tossed that silly cell last fall after it had been sitting in my childhood closet for 15 years… Timing, right?!
Now “mito” - short for “mitochondrial disease” - is something I think about every.single.day. Many times a day.
There is no cure for mito. According to the United Mitochondrial Disease Foundation (UMDF) every 30 minutes a child is born who will develop mito by 10 years old. On top of that, every single year, 1,000 to 4,000 children in the USA are born with a mitochondrial disease. Lorelei was “lucky” in that she was diagnosed within the first two weeks of her birth. Most children (and even adults) live without an official diagnosis their entire lives, making it hard to say how many people actually have mito. They do know that the number of children fighting mitochondrial disease is quickly approaching the frequency of childhood cancers. (You can read more here at UMDF - and I’m not gonna lie, I check their site once a week in hopes of a grand announcement of a mito cure!)
So what is mito? You can read the details at the UMDF Frequently Asked Questions page - or you can watch this super cute video I found online from The Lily Foundation in the UK.
Why all the details on Mito? September 18-24, 2016 is Mitochondrial Awareness Week.
Personally, as someone who is the mom to the cutest Mito Warrior ever, I feel as if one week isn’t enough time to raise awareness for the disease that has completely changed our lives. So get aware! Ask me questions! (My husband or our geneticist can give you all the scientific answers, while I can tell you all about how cute Lorelei is!) And then help me raise money to donate so they can continue to do research and hopefully find a cure!
Between now, August 23, 2016 and the entire month of September - I will be donating 25% of any money I make from my online income streams to the United Mitochondrial Disease Foundation (UMDF), including money brought in from my blog, Monat, Stella & Dot or my 2 Cats Creates Etsy Shop! What does that mean to you? It means, you better get shopping to help the brains behind UMDF try to find a cure for Lorelei and all of the other children with cattywampus DNA!
Guys - I want to hype this up and make it huge. Here are a few things you can do to help me…
SHOP!
- If you have always wanted to try Monat’s natural hair products (because you saw one of my Monat reviews and have been wanting to give it a shot) - now is a great time to do so! Shop Monat here!
- My Stella & Dot jewelry is never out of style! Shop for yourself or kick off your Christmas shopping early this year!
- If you have not seen my updated “2 cats creates” etsy shop, I am restocking with fun keychains, wine glasses, party trays and more! Check back often as it grows almost daily!
PARTY!
- If you are local, I am throwing in an extra donation for each Stella & Dot Ladies Night that is booked and hosted through me in September!
- If you are not local, let’s host an Online Stella & Dot Party! Remember, I am donating 25% of all my profits from all purchases, so the more the merrier! Bloggers, you can host this on your blog and social media outlets! You will earn free jewelry for yourself and I will be donating to UMDF! It’s a win win!
BLOG, SHARE OR CREATE!
- If you are a blogger, I would love it if you could share what I am doing and help us gain awareness of Mitochondrial Disease, especially during the week of September 18-24, 2016. (Again, feel free to ask me for more details!)
- The 2 cats team is always looking to expand! Not to turn this into a sales pitch, but ladies, I make a decent amount of money from my blog’s separate income streams like Stella & Dot and Monat. I basically get paid to wash my hair and wear fun jewelry! Wanna know how you can add a little (or a lot) of extra money to your purse? Let’s chat. I will donate $25 to UMDF for every new 2 cats team member who joins in September!
- Do you have an etsy shop or other business? Consider making a donation to UMDF from your sales as well! Maybe you cannot afford to do it all month, but how about during September 18-24? Then tell your readers, followers and shoppers what you are doing and why! If you want to join, I will give you time on my blog and all my social channels to share your business! Again, a win win for everyone, but especially the mito warriors! (Additionally, I will create a separate page on my site to help promo any other shops or businesses who want to help spread awareness! So let me know if you’re interested!)
Maybe you don’t have any hair, you don’t like crafts, and you passionately hate jewelry - but you still want to help… share this blog post and then consider making a donation to United Mitochondrial Disease Foundation yourself!
So there ya have it friends… let me know if you have any questions about mito or Lorelei or anything else I have mentioned above. I know it’s a lot to process but if I can help you place any orders or if you have any other creative ways to join us in raising awareness and research dollars to help find a cure, hit me up! I cannot wait to see how much we can raise over the next month and a half!!
