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Welcome to Brittany Wilkinson.org |
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Please take the time to register here . Join our Mito community and lets find a cure today. With your help we can increase the quality of life of another. As the first Youth Ambassador for the United Mitochondrial Disease Foundation I have dedicated my life to promoting awareness, raising funds for research, educating individuals, providing emotional support to those affected and helping in finding a cure.
Basis of the Disease  Mitochondrial diseases result from failures of the mitochondria, specialized compartments present in every cell of the body except red blood cells. Mitochondria are responsible for creating more than 90% of the energy needed by the body to sustain life and support growth. When they fail, less and less energy is generated within the cell. Cell injury and even cell death follow. If this process is repeated throughout the body, whole systems begin to fail, and the life of the person in whom this is happening is severely compromised. The disease primarily affects children, but adult onset is becoming more and more common.
Diseases of the mitochondria appear to cause the most damage to cells of the brain, heart, liver, skeletal muscles, kidney and the endocrine and respiratory systems.
Depending on which cells are affected, symptoms may include loss of motor control, muscle weakness and pain, gastro-intestinal disorders and swallowing difficulties, poor growth, cardiac disease, liver disease, diabetes, respiratory complications, seizures, visual/hearing problems, lactic acidosis, developmental delays and susceptibility to infection. |
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It was a great trip going to Ellen's. This picture is with Michael who happens to be Ellen's bodyguard but my dear friend. He is hoping to come to my dinner and golf tournament. Michael was soooo nice and I was even on TV. Read More! 
Well being a big fan of The Ellen Show imagine my joy to find out we got tickets to see her. She was a big fan of my service dog Freedom. Read more... 