Brittany started the Steps to a Cure Walk 6 years ago to bring awareness and funds to someday have a cure for mitochondrial disease. This year we are doing it a little different to continue her cause and give some prizes for things like biggest team, most creative tshirt etc. Next year we are going to be called the Energy For Life Walk and hopefully be able to gain more funds and awareness for mitochondrial disease by joining iwth UMDF and their expertise on this.. That is why we are called Brittany's Walk Toward Energy For Life and it also is the title of her CD where she sang the song Energy For Life by Brian McGrew. So gather your teams and come be a part of this yet another dream of Brittany's and help her continue to find a cure while keeping her memory allive.

Thank you

Saturday July 23rd Come join us at Sweet River for Karaoke for a Kause. You can download a flier for more details. All proceeds go to the Brittany Wilkinson UMDF Research Fund. There will be a guest apppearance from Mito Mouse so bring the kids for pictures. We will also have a song from our last year winner Brian McGrew so come be a part of the fun and the cure.

Thank you

When:  May 22, 2011

Where: Bicentennial Park (Clovis) on Sunnyside

Cost: $200 per team (Co-ed) minimum 9 players

Registration due by: May 21, 2011

Contact: Linda Wilkinson ~  559-299-1767   or   559-779-1785              

for a team roster and registration

Registration Form

Flyer

Please join Kim Stephens  (KMPH Great Day) & Cooper Pendergast as they host the 2nd Annual Co-ed Softball Tournament in memoriam of our  

Beloved Brittany Wilkinson.

Senator Boxer Introduces "The Brittany Wilkinson Mitochondrial Disease Research and Treatment Enhancement Act"

On Thursday, December 10, 2009, Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA), introduced “The Brittany Wilkinson Mitochondrial Disease Research and Treatment Enhancement Act of 2009”.   Boxer’s senate bill is also known as S. 2858. Three additional U.S. Senators signed on as original co-sponsors for the legislation. They are Richard Durbin (D-IL), John Kerry (D-MA) and Robert P. Casey (D-PA).

Read More @ UMDF

Happy Valentines Day from your new Mito Community wishing you all of the support and hope you like our new website.

A beautiful teenage girl flips her long, chestnut, ringlet-curled ponytail as she lies her head back on fushia-colored pillows propped up on a hospital bed in her living room. Though young in years, her piercing blue eyes reveal an old soul. She begins to tell her story, with the hope of making even one more person aware, but soon dozes off. The five-hour daily Carnitine drip has begun.

Britttany Wilkinson, a freshman at Clovis East High School, has seen and lived through more than most adults in her 14 years of life. She lives every day with a life-threatening illness called mitochondrial disease.

Mitochondria are responsible for producing energy in almost every cell in our bodies. If the mitochodria are defective, the body will not function properly. More than one in 4,000 children in the U.S. will be diagnosed with mitochondrial disease by age 10 annually, and the mortality rate can be up to 50 percent each year.

Symptoms of the mitochondrial disease include, but are not limited to: loss of motor control, muscle weakness and pain, cardiac and liver disease, diabetes, breathing problems, seizures, visual/hearing problems, and developmental delays.

Though she has had medical problems her entire life due to the illness, Brittany was finally diagnosed at age seven with mitochondrial disease.

Because mitochondrial disease is genetic and passed solely through the maternal side, her mother, brother and sister had their DNA tested as well. A shock radiated through the family when they all tested positive. Brittany’s mother, Linda, had no idea she was a carrier.

The pieces of the puzzle meshed, and the family finally had a name to explain all the aches and pains they had felt for years. Among other indicators, they all get easily winded and have joint pain. Her sister, Ashley, recently started on a bi-weekly Carnitine drip. Brittany has a mutation in her DNA, which manifests itself in ways more complicated and severe.