As many of you have already heard, KB was recently diagnosed with NUBPL – a rare form of Mitochondrial Complex 1 disorder. We cannot say enough good things about the genetic testing company, GeneDx, that provided the Whole Exome Sequencing. They have a very generous financial assistance policy (FAP) that allows them to work with patients on their out-of-pocket-costs, which is such a blessing on this financially strenuous journey.

We are pleased to let you know that since being diagnosed with NUBPL we have found another family with two daughters, Cali and Ryaan, with this same disorder. From the moment we watched their video, The Life We Live, and saw their photographs, we knew we found our community. What’s more is they are a wonderful family who shares the same passion for their family and drive to find a cure. They introduced us to their doctor, Virginia Kimonis, University of California Irvine, who has discussed her research with us. Here’s a wonderful article about Dr. Kimonis and The Spooner Family. We have spoken at length with Dr. Kimonis and are planning a trip to California to meet with her team and The Spooners.

At this time, we have just three patients from the United States – Cali, Ryaan, and Katherine Belle. We are very hopeful we will find others in time. For now, together we face the monumental task of privately funding NUBPL research. Both families agree we will not let financial obstacles stand in the way of helping our children. We have created a NUBPL.org site and Facebook page to facilitate the search for other NUBPL patients and raise funds. Please take a moment to view our new site and Facebook page and share with your networks. A special thanks to Matt Might for the shout out in his informative post, Discovering new diseases with the internet: How to find a matching patient.

Last week we learned the wonderful news that KB has been accepted for the U.S. National Institutes of Health EPI 743 clinical study. We feel very blessed to be in this study and are quite hopeful this drug will greatly improve her mitochondrial function. We are hopeful that Cali and Ryaan will be admitted to this trial in the future.