Have a Heart - Give a Buck; 16 year old celebrates special birthday by raising money for charity
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http://www.reporterherald.com/print.asp?ID=14473
Publish Date: 1/22/2008
Reporter-Herald
Loveland, CO
Finding a cure one dollar at a time
Loveland High sophomore wants to raise money to help
find a cure for a rare neurodegenerative disease
By Sarah Bultema
The Reporter-Herald
Fifteen-year-old Allie Kittel is like any other
teenager — almost.
The Loveland High School sophomore likes to paint,
hang out with friends and play the harp.
But while some teens approaching their 16th birthday
wish for lavish parties and new cars, all Allie wants
is $1.
Diagnosed with Friedreich’s ataxia, a rare
neurodegenerative disease, Allie is trying to raise
money for the disease’s research through a fundraiser
she started with her family.
“Have a Heart — Give a Buck” asks simply for $1
donations, which will be given to the Friedreich’s
Ataxia Research Alliance in hopes of finding a cure.
“A dollar is nothing anymore. You can hardly buy a
hamburger for a dollar,” said Allie’s mother, Sue
Kittel.
“But put it all together and you build a community of
support.”
An Early Diagnosis
While Allie rallies to raise awareness and money for
the disease, it’s a reality she’s known her whole
life.
The Kittels learned Allie had Friedreich’s ataxia when
she was only 5 years old.
Although she wasn’t showing the initial symptoms,
which include an unsteadiness and imbalance, they knew
there was a chance she had the genetically inherited
disease. Her older brother, Aaron Kittel, was
diagnosed earlier.
“They (my parents) first told me when I was 8,” Allie
remembered. “It was just like ‘whatever.’ I didn’t
really understand.”
In fact, Allie wasn’t too affected by the disease
until recently.
Friedreich’s ataxia is a progressive disease that
slowly kills cells in the nervous system and makes it
hard for the person to walk, Sue explained
“It’s very exhausting to keep yourself upright and
straight; you use more energy than other people,” she
said. And it often makes the person seem like they’re
drunk, weaving when they walk and slurring their
speech, she added.
Most symptoms appear between 5 and 15 years old, and
many young people with the disease require mobility
aids, such as a walker or wheelchair, by their teens
or early 20s, according to Friedreich’s Ataxia
Research Alliance’s Web site, www.curefa.org.
Going Through It Together
Allie wasn’t directly affected by the disease until
last year, when tasks as simple as walking and talking
at the same time became difficult.
“At school, when I’d do that, I’d get really out of
breath and I’d have to concentrate a lot on walking,”
Allie explained.
Two months ago, she decided it was time to get an
electric scooter to help conserve her energy — a piece
of advice learned from her brother.
Aaron, who’s now 30, had resisted getting a wheelchair
when he was Allie’s age, she said. But now, he admits
he could have saved a lot of energy by using one
earlier.
“I guess he’s made some mistakes, and I’ve learned
from what he had to learn the hard way,” she said.
Although watching her brother’s deterioration from the
disease is hard — even bringing her to tears while
discussing it — Allie’s found it still helps in
handling her own progression.
“I think a big part of it is attitude and mind-set and
how they choose to see themselves,” said Joe Kittel,
their father.
“It’s a differentiation between ‘This is my body, this
is not me.’ That’s the only way you could deal with
it, I think.”
High School with FA
Even with a supportive family at home, going to high
school can be hard for any teenager, let alone one
with a crippling disease.
“It was hard when I first started using it,” said
Allie, explaining that other students were confused
when she started using the scooter. Many hadn’t notice
she had walked a little differently than the rest
before.
Allie tells them she was tired, she said, not always
wanting to explain much more.
In fact, her disease is not something Allie frequently
discusses even with close friends.
“It doesn’t come up that often,” she said. “Maybe they
don’t feel comfortable talking about it.”
Sharing the word, Finding a Cure
It’s this lack of knowledge in the community that’s
driving the family’s fundraiser.
“It’s hard to tell them and it’s hard for them to
hear,” Sue said, pointing out Allie’s situation with
her peers.
But the drive is a way to open discussions and show
support.
“In a very powerless situation, a disease that has no
cure, it gives us some power to do something, which is
to put the money into research,” Sue said.
Through the “Have a Heart — Give a Buck” drive, Allie
aims to raise $10,000, one dollar at a time.
And as the days count closer to Jan. 28, her birthday,
she’s knows each donation brings researchers one step
closer to finding a cure.
“Give me hope” is her only Sweet 16 wish.
To make a donation of any amount, visit
www.firstgiving.com/1buck4fa.
submitted: 2/2/2008
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