True flew to Massachusetts from North Carolina for FREE!

Miracle Flights for Kids provided financial assistance for True to fly to Massachusettsfor treatment.

As he grows, True will need many more flights. Please Help True…. Donate Today!

Our son, True, is going to be 6 years old. We adopted him when he was two days old and had no idea the road he would take us on. He had feeding issues and was in the hospital within a week of being born because he would not wake up. After years of visiting different specialists, being referred here and there and a lot of testing, True was finally given a clinical diagnosis of Mitochondrial disease in June of 2008 by Dr Mark Korson at the Floating Hospital for Children in Boston.

Less than a year later, the diagnosis was confirmed when testing showed mitochondrial dysfunction after a muscle biopsy was performed, and again through mtDNA testing.

Mitochondrial disease is a defect in the part of the cell that produces energy. Therefore, the body is not able to covert food into enough energy to run all the body’s organs and systems at 100%. Most children with mitochondrial disease have issues in multiple organs; despite how “well” they may look on the outside. True is most affected in his GI tract, lungs and autonomic nervous system. He has a g-tube and uses oxygen as needed at night. He also has problems with kidneys, eyes, brain, muscles and nerves, vocal chords and so forth.

Because there are only a handful of metabolic specialists who specialize in Mitochondrial Disease, we still need to see Dr Korson every 6-9 months for management. There is no cure, but there are therapies that both help with systems and slow down the progression of the disease. Dr Korson is very wise about management and will be able to work with True’s medical team in North Carolina on the best way to manage our sweet boy!

True is a lively, happy, opinionated, truthful, giving and spirited boy! He goes to Kindergarten on a decreased schedule, loves to ride his bike, play with the neighborhood kids, play games on the computer or DS and cuddle with his family!

Thank you for the important work your organization does for kids like True!

True’s mother, North Carolina