I saw this on my local news this morning, And I know we can all help!!!!!!

[eedipoLuap73]

ATHENA'S STORY
Please help us, we are desperate for a cure for our daughter and time is running out. She has been diagnosed with a rare, terminal disease called "metachromatic leukodystrophy." This is Athena's Story:

Athena Noelle Reitano was born on August 9, 2001 in Weymouth, Massachusetts. She is our second daughter, her older sister's name is Raven. Athena was born 4 1/2 weeks premature and had some health issues at birth, but was given a clean bill of health by the time she was a year old. We were thrilled...we had two beautiful, healthy children.

Everything seemed wonderful. Our family was complete with two children, and we just bought our first house. Life went on very uneventful for about a year. Athena was hitting all of the normal physical and mental milestones that she was suppose to, but she wasn't walking. We were told she was probably delayed because she was a preemie, but she would most likely walk by the time she turned three. We ended up getting an occupational therapist for her to help her along and we brought her to an ophthalmologist, who prescribed glasses for nearsightedness. Other than that, we were confident that she was fine. When Athena neared her second birthday, we began to notice some very troubling physical problems. She was having extreme difficulty with head control and balance. Then she quickly lost the ability to pull herself up or sit unassisted, she would just fall over. She also started dragging her head on the floor when she would crawl. We panicked and our pediatrician sent her to a neurologist. On the first visit the neurologist told us that she had horrible news. Athena most likely had ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease). She was 99% sure. She said Athena would never walk and life span for the disease was very short. They did some blood work and told us that the results would take a month. It turns out, Athena does not have ALS. For the past year she has been through a battery of tests to find out what she does have. We have had many highs and lows, from the suspicion of ALS and many other equally devastating diseases, to being told that she had "Chronic Inflammatory Demylenating Polyneuropathy," which is treatable and could even make a full recovery. We even brought her to the Holy land of Medugorje, Croatia in search of a miracle. Her health has gone back and forth. She has had "rag doll syndrome", which is the loss of all muscle control, only to turn around and gain all of the skills she had lost back. Then Athena started to get very sick again. She had an MRI and it showed that the white matter in her brain was demylenating. They took more blood and urine to test, and on June 7th, 2004 we received the most horrific news imaginable. Athena has "metachromatic leukodystrophy (MLD)." This is an extremely rare, progressive, genetic disease. There is no cure or treatment. We've been told that it will cause loss of all muscle control and seizures, she will be unable to chew or swallow and can go deaf and blind. Most are left in a vegetative state. Life expectancy is 3 to 6 years old. My perfect, beautiful angel is going to die unless we find a cure. She is already deteriorating so quickly.

She is now unable to chew or swallow and is fed only by feeding tube.
She has also lost all of her muscle control and has seizures. Research for this disease is extremely under funded because it is so rare. We are trying to raise money for research to save her life. Please help in any way you can. THANK YOU.

The Reitano Family
Carver, MA

WAYS YOU CAN HELP:

Donate Directly: Athena has an account set up with the two tax-exempt charitable foundations below:

The Stennis Foundation
Tax ID# 52-2386218
P.O. Box 30065
Amarillo, TX 79120
Phone # (806) 467-2747

Bethany's Hope Foundation
14 Northdale Street
London, Ontario
N6A 2X6
Canada
Phone: (519) 858-4673

Please note Athena's name on the check. They are fighting to find a cure for this disease.

Save Aluminum Can Tabs: Before you dispose of a soda can with a tab, wiggle off the tab and save it. For every pound of tabs collected, The Stennis Foundation will receive $0.37 from Conway Scrap Metals in Whitman, MA. That might not seem like a lot, but those tabs can add up quickly! You can drop the tabs off at the Carver Fire Station (Station #1) in Carver Center. They have a bucket with a sign when you walk in.

Also, the Kingston Public Library and Duval's Pharmacy at 571 Washington Street in Whitman Center have similar set-ups. Or you can call Renee at (508) 866-7622 to arrange a pick up. Also, any local businesses that are willing to put a small bucket in their store to collect can tabs or change would be greatly appreciated. Call Renee and she will provide you with Athena's picture, short story and bucket for collections.

Save Scrap Metal: This is the same concept as the aluminum tabs.
Conway Scrap Metal will pay us the same amount for things like pots & pans, window panes or scrap metal to benefit The Stennis Foundation. You can also drop off directly with the company. Just mention that it's for Athena and your donation will be sent to Renee to go towards the Stennis Foundation.

Conway Scrap Metal Company
36 Vincent Street
Whitman, MA 02382
Contact: Michael Conway
781-447-2534

Shop for a Good Cause: Support The Stennis Foundation while shopping on-line.
1. Go to www.igive.com to join. It's free, private, and easy.
2. Shop the mall at www.igive.com. You'll see stores like Target, The Gap, L.L. Bean, and Barnes & Noble, to mention just a few.
3. Watch the $$ roll in for The Stennis Foundation. Up to 26% of each purchase gets donated.

Car Donations: Are you thinking of selling or trading in that old car, boat, or RV? Why not donate it instead? Arrangements will be made to conveniently and quickly pick up your vehicle donation at no cost to you. They handle the title transfer requirement and provide you with a tax deductible donation receipt at the time of pick up. Call Trish Knight at The Stennis Foundation for more information at (806) 467-2747.

Recipes of Hope: We are selling a beautiful cookbook called "Recipes of Hope". It was made by the Bethany's Hope Foundation and costs $10.00. Along with some wonderful recipes, it features Athena's picture and story, and the stories of other children around the world that have been diagnosed with MLD. You can purchase them at D's Omelet Shoppe in Carver Square, Millies Lunch on Washington Street in Whitman Center, For the Wittle Ones, hand painted children's furniture store on South Park Avenue in Plymouth (on the water front), Mark of Elegance, hair salon at 5 Thomas Street in Kingston and through the Bethany's Hope website www.bethanyshope.org or you can call Renee at (508) 866-7622.

One Step Closer to a Cure: We are having a walk to benefit The Stennis Foundation on June 12th. Call Janeen at (508) 866-4109 for information on how to join us.

Have Fun at Scalliwags: Each month, Scalliwags at 330-350 Corporate Park in Pembroke, donates part of its ticket sales to a charitable organization. Athena is the child of the month for March, and the orrn any way you can. THANK YOU. Organization is "Bethany's Hope". Scalliwags is a great place to bring children, it is a fantasy playland with everything a child needs for a fun filled afternoon.

Calendar Raffle: We will be holding a calendar raffle for the entire month of June. How it works: You buy a raffle ticket. Each ticket is $10.00, with all proceeds going to research in Athena's name through Bethany's Hope Foundation. Each day during the month of June, there's a chance that your name will be picked for that day's prize. But, before we can start selling raffle tickets, we must raise between $1500-$2000 to ensure 30 days worth of cash prizes. Donations in any amount are greatly appreciated. The sooner we reach that goal, the sooner we can print the tickets, and the more we sell, the better chance we can help Athena and others with MLD. Our goal is to sell 1000 tickets between now and June. We ask that any checks written for the raffle prizes be written to Renee Reitano directly and sent to:

Renee & Sal Reitano
40 Pine Street
Carver, MA 02330

For information about buying raffle tickets or if you would like to help sell tickets, you can call Sheri at 781-335-5579.

T-Shirts: We now have t-shirts donated from Mark & Trisha Senior from B&B embroidery in Carver. They are white t-shirts with the Athena's Hope logo on them in either pink or blue stitching. We have them in adult or children's sizes. We are selling them for $10.00 each. To purchase t-shirts, or if anyone is willing to sell them at their business, please contact Renee at 508-866-7622. They will also be for sale at the Carver soccer field in Carver during the spring soccer season.

Bake Sale: The Erwin K. Washburn primary school in Carver will be having a bake sale to benefit "Bethany's Hope" on March 30th 2005. It will be held on parent-teacher conference night, so if you are attending the conferences please stop by & check out the tasty treats. The bake sale is being organized by family friend, Karen Jeghers. If you are willing to bake something for our cause, please contact her at kjeghers@aol.com.

COMING SOON: www.athenashope.org

[Gregory]

My family and I will certainly be praying for this little girl. This really touches my heart and saddens me.

Keep us posted Paul and I will see what I can do to help.


I have 4 young ens here Wyatt-2, Gregory-6, Megan-11, & Melissa-13, and I thank God often that they are in good health

[smudger]

amen to that greg.