The
Board of Directors:
Helen
Smith, Founder
Glanzmann's Research Foundation |
Barrett
Cochran
PCE - ER |
Benjamin
B. Barmore, Sr.
CPA
Partner , Baird & Company |
Bruce
Friedman, MD
Critical Care Director
Joseph M. Still Burn Center |
Kalyani
Friedman, MD
Anesthesiologist |
Michael
Brown, Owner
Chik Fil A; Augusta Exchange |
Paige
Cochran
Insurance Agent
Joesbury Insurance Agency |
Darren
Meadows
Attorney
Hull, Towill, Norman, Barrett & Salley |
I founded
the Glanzmann’s Research Foundation, a 501(c)3 organization
in 2001 after learning about the research being done at
the Medical College of Wisconsin by Dr. David Wilcox. Wilcox’s
work showed great promise in finding a cure for Glanzmann’s
Thrombasthenia (GT). Once I’d learned from him that
no amount of research money was too small, I immediately
started raising money to assist him with his research. To
date, over $200,000 has been donated by the Glanzmann’s
Research Foundation.
Dr.
Wilcox has been able to correct GT in his research lab by
using gene manipulation. With additional funding and public
awareness GT can be cured in as little as 10 years. This
gene manipulation has also been successful in correcting
hemophilia as well as repairing red blood cell that were
damaged during chemotherapy.
I refuse
to allow a lack of money and public awareness to be the
reason why my daughter, GT patients and hemophilia patients
around the world have to continue to live with these terrible
bleeding disorders.
I developed
the Glanzmann’s Research Foundation website in 2001
as a resource for myself and other GT patients, family and
healthcare providers because information was difficult to
find and other people with GT were even harder to find,
at the time I only knew of 4 other GT patients in the world
with whom I’d had contact with through email. I thought
a website would be a good way to share any and all information
I found with others and establish contact with other GT
patients.
Recently,
I was honored by receiving the Jefferson Award for Public
Service. Presented on a national and local level, the Jefferson
Award was developed in 1972 to serve as a Nobel Prize for
public service. The prestigious award was named for President
Thomas Jefferson, whom the Board felt “best reflected
the spirit of excellence in America.” I am humbled
by this award and feel somewhat embarrassed to have been
recognized in this way because the motivation for my efforts
originated with trying to help my daughter. Now I’m
committed to helping the entire GT (and hemophilia) community
and I’m hopeful that this amazing opportunity will
further my efforts to raise money for research and public
awareness.
The
Jefferson Award’s Board of Selectors chooses the winners
every year. Past winners include Barbara Bush, Colin Powell,
Oprah Winfrey, Bill and Melinda Gates, Dr. Condoleezza Rice,
and Peyton Manning. A local panel of judges in over 90 U.S.
communities selects winners who are grassroots “unsung
heroes.” From each community, the Board selects one
local winner to be honored and represent their community
for the Jefferson Champion Award which is awarded during
the National Ceremonies in Washington DC every June.
Julia’s
fight with GT has become my life’s work. I look forward
to the day when there is a cure for this debilitating disorder
– when Julia and other GT patients can no longer worry
about a nosebleed, bruising, or internal bleeding from even
the least little bump or fall. “Sometimes the phone
rings at 2:00 a.m.,” she said. “It’s exhausting,
but if my child were bleeding and might die, I hope someone
would be there to answer my phone call.” I’m
here; ready to help whenever and wherever I can.
With
our continued support, Dr. Wilcox expects to be able to
cure GT within the next 10 to 15 years. Imagine being able
to participate in advancing medical science so far that
GT becomes a footnote in history alongside polio, scurvy,
small pox and all the other diseases and disorders we no
longer live in fear of.
Helen
Smith
Founder
Glanzmann's
Research Foundation
http://www.CureGT.com
706-533-4818
Dr.
David Wilcox, a professor at the Medical College of
Wisconsin has been the benefactor of previous contributions
from the GRF due to the fact that he has had some amazing
success in his laboratory. He has corrected GT in human
cells in the lab environment. It is vital that his research
receive the funding required in order to take the success
he’s achieved in the lab and apply it to people in
the GT population. The money raised by the Glanzmann’s
Research Foundation goes directly towards the advancement
of the research being done to cure GT.
Dr.
Wilcox has shown us how donations from the GRF have been
applied to his previous research and demonstrated where
contributions from the GRF will continue be used in the
advancement of his research.
Donations
& funding requests should be made in writing and mailed
to:
Glanzmann's
Research Foundation
3563 Granite Way
Martinez, GA 30907
USA
