Join us in our fight against Huntington’s Disease
There are two ways you can help Robbins Rehabilitation raise money for this great cause. Please read below to find out more information about our event and our story with Huntington’s Disease.
1. All you have to do is come and have some amazing food and drinks with us at Queen City BBQ in Lehigh Valley Pennsylvania. Hey, you were going to eat and drink anyway that night. Why not come and do it with us! Its not just food and drinks though. We will have a 50/50 raffle so you can make money! We will also be raffling off awesome gifts like signed sports memorabilia, New York Knicks tickets, Lehigh Valley Phantom’s tickets, Wegmans gift cards and MORE. Everyone can win with our charity event!
2. Go to our donation page we share with my sister Erin and make any donation you feel comfortable with. A little bit of effort from a lot of people is the best way to accomplish any goal. No dollar amount is too low to offer so please consider donating whatever you feel you can.
https://hdsa.donordrive.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=donorDrive.participant&participantID=30368
Read below to learn more about my experience with Huntington’s and why it is so important to me:
Friends,
I know you are all busy, just like me. I also know that you are approached to support charities and other organizations frequently. If you have the time, please read further because I want to tell you about a way to help a great cause and have a great time doing it. I would appreciate a few minute of your time.
My father-in-law Jim Pryce passed away two years ago after a long battle with Huntington’s Chorea. Huntington’s is a hereditary disease so our family continues to live with it, even today. Recently my youngest sister in law, Erin Pryce was diagnosed with Huntington’s in her early 30’s. It was a crushing blow to know that her life would be affected by this disease. Instead of feeling sorry for her and ourselves we have decided to support her by raising money for the Huntington’s Disease Society of America (HDSA).
Huntington’s has been described as getting diagnosed with ALS, Alzheimer’s, and Parkinson’s at the same time. I have yet to experience a more terrible disease affect my patients, acquaintances or friends. What makes this disease even worse is that it takes so much away at such a young age. My father-in-law outlived his prognosis but he was unable to work as a physical therapist after the age of 40. His quality of life was severely affected at young age.
Huntington’s disease doesn’t get a lot of attention like other illnesses. Today, there are 30,000 symptomatic Americans and 200,000 who are at risk for having the faulty gene for Huntington’s. We want to help shed light on this disease and help people who are dealing with this disease and support finding a cure. Just like any other cause, raising money for research is a large part of that effort.
The HSDA is sadly underfunded compared to other organizations because of the lack of awareness around the disease. Last year they raised 2.3 million dollars which is great, but not enough to cure the disease. This year they finally got a drug approved to treat symptoms of Huntington’s for the first time in a decade. Imagine if only one drug was approved to treat cancer in the last 10 years! The HDSA helps fund these drug trials and has had many other successes in the past year including:
- Expanded our Centers of Excellence to 41 with 7 satellite clinics that provide an elite multidisciplinary approach to Huntington’s disease care and research.
- Supported almost $1 million in research grants.
- Hosted over 170 support groups across country.
- Provided nearly 70 social workers across the country.
- Implemented 3 regional National Youth Alliance Retreats for children and young adults ages 9-29 affected by HD
I am asking for your help so the many people fighting this disease, including my sister in law, can have a fighting chance.