#emmastrong

This beautiful 8 month old baby girl and her family need our help.  Erin, Mark and Emma are very great friends of ours and also happen to live 3 doors down from us.  Michelle and Erin went to Issaquah HS together and have remained friends since and our daughters have had the pleasure of growing up with the Courteau's and Emma Grace in their lives!

Emma has had some developmental challenges and Erin and Mark have been doing everything in their power to find answers.  Unfortunately, this week they were given answers and it is unimaginable.

Baby Emma was just diagnosed with Spinal Muscular Atrophy - Type 1, or SMA-1.  It is a very rare, very serious disease that affects her muscles.  SMA-1 babies are not able to sit, stand or walk on their own.  Their muscles aren't being worked or developed and they tend to wither and die (atrophy).  In the past, due to their weakened respiratory and digestive muscles, many young children pass within their first two years.

As hard as this is to write, read, or listen to, we cannot imagine or even comprehend what Erin and Mark are going through.  There is nothing that we or anyone can do or say to help with their pain or emotional nightmare.  Bottom line, this is a tragedy and their world has been turned upside down.

Erin has stopped working and will be home to care for Emma.  As you can imagine, this diagnosis will forever change their lives.  They have to restrict Emma's exposure to the outside world to protect her from any respiratory or other illnesses.

They are greatful for the team of care providers at Seattle Children's Hospital and are lucky to be this close to such an amazing facility.  There is a new drug called Spinraza that was just approved by the FDA last December.  Emma will have her first lumbar injection late this week or early next week.  There will be many more as the weeks and months progress.  She is also currently in several therapy treatments in house, outpatient and at Childrens.

With Erin no longer able to work and the time that Erin and Mark need to be home to focus on Emma and her treatments and to give her all the love she deserves, they need all the help they can get! 

We may not be able to take away the physical or emotional pain, but the least we can do is try to help financially support them and help take away the stress from that aspect of this tragedy. They have bigger things to focus on and right now, this is all about Emma and what she needs.

Please, every dollar helps.  If you cannot help financially, please keep Emma in your prayers.  Every bit of support will help.  Erin and Mark are not the type of people to ask for help but would do absolutely anything in their power to help others.  This is our time to make sure they can pay their bills, feed their family and keep afloat in all the medical expenses coming their way.  Just to show some insight on this financially, each round of injection of Spinraza is approximately $125,000.

#emmastrong