Foundation for

Hello!

Thank you in advance for the next minute of your time. You’ve received this email because I’ve asked virtually everyone I know in the world to forward this to at least five or more of their friends, family and colleagues in the hope that together (and yes, one by one!) we can do something remarkable.

My five-year-old son Mitchell was recently diagnosed with Schimke Immunoosseous Dysplasia—a complicated medical term for one of the rarest forms of Dwarfism. Unlike most dwarfs you’ve seen, Mitchell is perfectly proportioned but stands only 27-1/2 inches tall and weighs 18 pounds. His condition is so rare that Mitchell is only one of four others in the United States who have been diagnosed with Schimke, and one of only 45 across the world. It’s believed that many more children may have Schimke but the journey to a diagnosis (like ours) can take years and most die from the symptoms of kidney failure or stroke before they’ve been accurately diagnosed.

I write you today because doctors in British Columbia, who have worked on their own time, money and resources, have cloned Mitchell’s genes and believe that Ataluren (originally developed for those with Muscular Dystrophy) could be the cure we and other parents of children with Schimke have been waiting for. This is a shovel-ready project that offers extraordinary promise—so much promise in fact we established Little Giants Foundation (www.LittleGiantsFoundation.org) to share this advancement with other parents of children with rare types of Dwarfism and to communicate our needs that will bring us closer to a cure.

Actress Farrah Fawcett, who battled a rare form of cancer and recently lost her fight, questioned why there was little to no funding for medical conditions that affect only a few. I believe the answer lies with us and our power as human beings to make something happen... to not be content to wait for government or pharmaceutical companies to get an “ah-ha” moment that leads to funding. If each person who receives this email contributes just $25 to Little Giants Foundation, we can complete the testing that could save my son’s life and the lives of other Schimke children.

Just imagine what that means for a minute. If you contribute $25 and five of your friends, family or co-workers contribute $25, and each one of them forwards this email to five others who contribute, and the movement spreads far and wide, we could raise the $3 million needed to complete this testing over the next few years. There’s no doubt in my heart that we can do this together.

Maybe you can't contribute financially now, but please consider a few of our other needs to help get this message out.

•· Visit our Website. Read about Mitchell, learn more about our fight, then post a www.LittleGiantsFoundation.org link on your Facebook or Twitter page.

•· Become an angel for Schimke and pray for us.

•· If you own a business or know of someone who can donate T-shirts, banners, or other items that communicate Little Giants Foundation, please contact us.

•· Forward this email to your company’s human resources department and ask if they would consider electronically broadcasting this email to employees or posting it in a common area. (Please don’t do this without securing permission.)

•· If you or a friend knows a celebrity that could lend their voice to our cause, please tell them about us.

•· If you would like to sponsor a fundraiser in your city for Little Giants Foundation, please contact us.

•· We have everything we need to produce a documentary on Mitchell except for the camera. We hope to gain the broadest audience for this film so it must be shot on an acceptable format for television broadcast or film festivals. Our crew needs a Sony XD Cam EX with record cards and extra batteries. We’ve priced this at approximately $8,500. We have professional crew, lights and all editing capabilities. If you or someone you know would be willing to donate this camera equipment to help our cause, please contact us.

The fact is, we are quickly running out of time but we are so very, very close to a cure.

Finally, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for reading our plea and contributing in any way you can to save my son’s life and potentially the lives of other children with rare forms of Dwarfism. I hope you’ll take a moment to forward our story to at least five others or more who you believe can help us. We will continue to post our progress on www.LittleGiantsFoundation.org.

As a parent of a child facing the greatest odds imaginable, I am not too proud to ask for the help of friends or strangers. But our family is equally determined to bring the widest attention possible to a condition that is curable. We are almost there...and we will not go quietly.

Troy Cupps