Wow!
Melissa and I are amazed at the outpouring of generosity and support from everybody. As you can see, our Golf Outing and fundraising efforts were quite a success. Thank you everybody! THANK YOU!!
The day itself was filled with sunshine and beautiful weather. Melissa and I had a complete blast. Most, if not all, were able to meet
Carson and learn a little about Smith-Lemli-Opitz and how they were helping. We raffled, auctioned, and gave away over 50 prizes worth over $5000. The dinner buffet offered some great food - or so we hear (we didn't eat!) – and we were able to serve free beer all day long. We hope more are able to attend should we do this again.
We blew our goal out of the water and it is all due to the generous hearts of our friends, family, friends-of-friends, and complete strangers. But please, if you are here to donate, don't let our success deter you! :)
Thank you again all.
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Dear Friends and Family
Welcome to our donation website!! I assume you are here to support our efforts in raising money for the Smith-Lemli-Opitz/RSH Foundation, and we sincerely appreciate your time and generosity in doing so.
We are having a Charity Golf Outing and Dinner on Saturday, September 29, 2007 at the Polo Fields Golf & Country Club in
Ann Arbor, MI. The event will honor our little superman, Carson Gallagher, and all money raised will be donated to the SLO/RSH Foundation. Smith-Lemli-Opitz Syndrome (SLOS) is a rare genetic condition where the body does not produce adequate amounts of cholesterol. This disorder, which occurs in approximately 1 in 20,000-60,000 births, has greatly affected Carson's health. The SLO/RSH Foundation is a 503 (c) (3) charitable organization designed not only to provide a support network for families dealing with SLOS, but also to aid in finding better treatments, or even a cure for SLOS. The money raised from this outing will go towards funding research studies for SLOS.
As many of you probably know, federal funding for research studies has been drastically cut by the government. This has had an affect on research related to SLOS. More and more, doctors and specialists are relying on our Foundation's bank account to provide the much-needed funds for this research. Family fundraisers (such as our golf outing) are the number one way that we can continually pay for the studies and research that all children affected by SLOS so desperately need.
Now...a little bit about
Carson! The diagnosis of SLOS was confirmed when he was only 10 days old. He was born with many of the typical problems associated with SLOS, some of which include congenital heart defects, pelvic kidney, dislocated hips, cleft soft palate, jaw/airway issues, hypotonia (poor muscle tone), and physical/developmental delays.
Carson has a tracheostomy tube to help him breathe and also a feeding tube (g-tube) because he does not eat orally. He has courageously endured several surgeries and hospitalizations in his short life. He is continually in physical therapy, occupational therapy, and feeding therapy (and most recently, therapeutic horseback riding!).
Despite all that he has been through,
Carson remains a very happy, active, (and sometimes stubborn!) 2 1/2 year old. His smile and laugh are irresistible! Although he cannot crawl or walk (but we do believe someday he will!), he has very strong legs...he loves to bounce and jump and scoot around on his back. He understands a lot more than he can communicate. We do basic sign language with him and use pictures. His favorite sign lately is MOMMY. To him, it means more than mommy, though. It means more, yes, no, daddy, etc. We're working hard on communication; it is one of his goals for this school year!
Again, thank you everyone for your thoughtfulness, generosity, and support. We hope that with your help, this outing will be a huge success!