Our beautiful 9 year old daughter Leah, was diagnosed in July, 2007 with Neurofibromatosis 2 (NF2).  NF2 is a rare disorder where the child is lacking a protein that suppresses tumor growth.  Without this protein, children like Leah develop benign tumors that grow in the brain, spinal cord and throughout the body.  These tumors can grow large enough to cause neurological problems like deafness, blindness and seizure activity depending on their size and location.  Sometimes the tumors can be surgically removed, but at great risk to the child. 

Leah currently has 6 tumors in her brain and had one in her neck compressing her spinal cord at C2.  On December 9, 2008 Leah endured a nine hour surgery to remove her spinal tumor followed by almost two weeks in the hospital.  The surgery was successfull but very taxing for an eight year old.   We do not want her to have to go through this ever again, and that is why we ran in the Buffalo Marathon again this year.  We will continue to fundraise through the summer before tallying up this year's totals and soliciting research proposals to fund for NF2.

Thank you for all of your support.

John and Linda Manth

Thank you for visiting my Personal Fundraising Page. Donating through this site is simple, fast and totally secure. It is also the most efficient way to make a contribution to our fundraising efforts. Many thanks for your support -- and don't forget to forward this to anyone who you think might want to donate too!

  WE DID IT!!!! May 24, 2009 was a beautiful day for a marathon and for NF supporters. 134 runners and over 100 volunteers helped make the weekend a complete success.  To date we have raised over $33,000 this year and almost $90,000 since we began fundraising in January of 2008.  We could not have done this without your generous donations! The money you helped raise will go directly toward NF2 research through NFInc Northeast.