Heya

Just posting to let my dad know I am thinking of him. It was about a year ago this week when I saw him for the first time in nearly 10 years, after my aunt Esther had notified me that my dad was ill. I am so thankful for the short amount of time that my dad and I spent together in Nov and Dec 2007, before he passed from CJD on Dec 20 2007. Though the time together went quick, I am just so happy that I saw him before he died.

It pains me every day to know that my father passed away from familial CJD. To watch him deteriorate so quickly, to hear him say "I am getting holes in my brain", and to know that it was a GENETIC disease was a major blow to me and my family. I myself was put to ease (somewhat) when I found out in August that I do not have the CJD mutation. However, that is only so comforting for I have three beautiful siblings - Michelle, Dawn, and John - all who are still at risk of carrying the mutation and developing CJD.

If anyone is reading this, please take the time to educate yourself on CJD and donate to the CJD research being performed at UCSF. While there is no cure and will likely be no cure any time soon, doctors are getting closer and closer to understanding what "sparks" CJD for both the familial and sporadic forms of CJD. If they can catch the disease when it starts, then they can treat people better and extend their lives. Unfortunately for me, my father went from walking and talking to passing onto the heavens all in less than a month because his disease was caught in the late stages. Yes, he could of had the genetic test performed when doctors in Minnesota asked him to be tested in the 90s, but since (we now know) that he had the mutation, it would have pained him the rest of his life to know that. One of his biggest fears in life was developing CJD as he watched his father die of the disease.

So dad, I love you a lot and I miss you terribly.

Tamara