In memory of Lucas

I care about the 1 in 20 Aussie kids who face a birth defect or genetic disease. That’s one in every classroom, maybe someone you know or love. Every day, many of these kids wake up to pills, injections, hospital visits (or worse). They never get the chance to run around and just be kids. If they can endure that, and keep smiling, then the least I can do is fight alongside them. That’s why I’m doing Jeans for Genes and raising money for Children’s Medical Research Institute. I want to give these kids better treatments and maybe even a cure.

I’ve signed up to Wear Jeans, so I can raise awareness and start the conversation—we need to do all we can to help save more kids’ lives. Can you help by sharing this message with the people you know and asking them to donate too? I (and millions of Aussie kids) thank you for it!

Lucas was born with an ultra rare genetic condition with only 29 other documented cases, SMPD4 gene mutation. His vocal cords were paralysed, meaning he needed a tracheotomy to breathe. He also needed a feeding tube as he couldn't have anything orally. He was on multiple meds for seizures and was unable to hold his head up.

At 17 months, he lost his fight but my hope is that no one goes through what he did

You might think you won’t need this research, that it’s not personal, but genetic diseases are a ticking timebomb. Most families don’t know they carry the gene for a disease, and many genetic diseases are not even inherited—they happen randomly, out of the blue. Like cancer. Most people don’t know that cancer is caused by changes in genes—but almost everyone will be touched by it. So, the research you and I support today may one day help someone we know, someone in our family.

There’s lots of work to do, but there is also lots of hope.

Join me. Share this message. Donate. Thank You!