Some friends of mine recently told me that their grandson had been diagnosed with Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome (WAS). Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome is an immune deficiency disorder in which not enough immunoglobulin M (IgM) is produced by the body. Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome also causes low numbers of blood platelets (thrombocytopenia) which are also small in size, eczema, and an increased risk of developing an autoimmune disorder or cancer. Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome is associated with a defective gene on the X (female) chromosome, so females tend to be carriers of the syndrome while males with the defective gene develop symptoms.

Riley is now 8 months old and will begin chemotherapy treatments in January 2007. He is a lucky little boy because his big sister Sidney (2 years old) will be donating bone marrow to her little brother, a life-saving measure.

Their story is incredibly touching and has since sparked the creation  of their blog TeamRiley.org and the creation of Team Riley logo gear.

I can’t do their story justice, but if you Visit their blog and follow this story as the time nears for Riley’s treatments to begin, you will see the power and strength of Team Riley. Team Riley is growing in numbers and we are showing our support for their family in any way we can.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 12th, 2006 at 6:31 pm and is filed under Give a little. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.