Are you BRAVE enough to be "MITO-IZED" this Halloween? Check out the costumes!

To the right, Trusty the Mississippi Braves mascot, displays a mitochondrion signed by the team!

Think mitochondria don't affect you and your family?
From type 2 diabetes, Parkinson's, atherosclerotic heart disease, stroke, Alzheimer's disease, and all the way to cancer, research shows that mitochondria are involved. Time for a reality check--an intelligent reality check. Click here to find out if you are smarter than a 5 year old.

UMDF funded researchers are constantly finding compelling data that we hope will eventually advance treatments for numerous age related diseases – which has far-reaching implications for us all. This disease that most have never heard of might one day explain everything they fear. How are mitochondria related to common diseases? Read for yourself.

Currently, donations fund all research through UMDF. They receive no federal funding for the research projects that lead the way in the fight against mito. Learn how you can help.

Life with mito:

In June 2006 I created our first website--www.savejude.com. Not only did that experience help me (mom) cope, it also helped me help! Because there is so little research, living with mito is like constantly living with the unknown. Sharing our story meant sharing the knowledge that we had learned the hard way. If your child has recently been diagnosed, you may feel that diagnosis was delivered with a death sentence. As you can see above in the smallest of smiles, that is not always the case. We hope you find this website inspirational and informative.

Always remember, parents know their child best. You are going to have burning questions and feelings about your child's well-being that no one else will understand. Just like you would advocate for your child's educational success, you must take 100% responsibility for improving your child's health. A teacher's job is to instruct your child in the classroom, but it's your job to do homework with your child and provide supplemental activities. In a medical sense, it's much the same. You must research the latest information, find the most reliable supplements, and make sure that your child is on the charts developmentally and physically. If not, you must question services and advocate for other treatment options and more therapy.

Although Jude's future is uncertain, his story is one of love and hope. He has overcome many obstacles. As long as he is stable, I have time to dedicate to causes close to my heart. And maybe kids like Jude, and those who are so much worse, will see some type of medicine or cure in their precious little lifetimes.

There are two amazing families living with mito that have inspired me. One is a mito mom, and she and her husband have 10 children, including other kids that they adopted. Another is a mito family with 5 children. Neither family got a diagnosis until the most affected children were born--the last two. This is a very difficult disease to live with, and it is hard to get a diagnosis. We found out when Jude was 17 months old and had pursued it since he was 2 months. Some of the families we know had to wait through multiple children and a decade. Please tell people about mitochondrial disease.