From Alyssa Littlejohn:
Good afternoon,
As part of my National Honor Society service project, I am raising money and awareness for Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP). PSP is a very rare neurological disease that progressively makes the muscles weaker. There is currently no known cause or cure of PSP. Each year, 1.1 out of 100,000 people are newly diagnosed with PSP, although 5-6 out of 100,000 people are living with it. My grandmother was one of those who were affected.
My grandmother was diagnosed with PSP in February, 2019. Since then, I had watched my grandmother slowly decline, which was one of the hardest things I have ever had to go through.
Within the past year, my grandmother was in a wheelchair, as she could no longer walk; she could only eat pureed food since she had trouble swallowing; she needed 24/7 care; and overall, her muscles were weakening. This is just an example of what this terrible disease can do physically. Mentally, my grandmother was aware of what was happening around her, and what was happening to her body. Sadly, she passed away this past February.
The early stages/symptoms of PSP can be often mistaken for Parkinson’s disease, but as the disease progresses, it is different from Parkinson’s disease. My family and I are very thankful to have received the proper diagnosis so we can learn more about the disease, but most importantly, so we could provide my grandmother with the proper care and help she needed.
I am raising money for CurePSP, which is a nonprofit organization dedicated to “the awareness, care and cure for neurodegenerative diseases” including PSP. My family and I have experienced firsthand the commitment it takes to care for someone with PSP. By raising money, I hope to support research on PSP and treatment options so other families experiencing PSP can have an easier time.
I have set up a personalized fundraising page where donations go directly to CurePSP. My goal is to raise at least $1,000. Please click on this link to reach my personalized page: https://give.curepsp.org/alyssal.
I greatly appreciate any amount you are able to give. No amount is too small; every donation helps.
If you would like to learn more about CurePSP and their mission/what they do for PSP, please visit their website: https://www.psp.org/about-curepsp/.
Thank you so much for your support. This cause means a lot to me, and I hope that any awareness and money I raise will help find a cause, cure, and treatment options for this disease.
Best,
Alyssa
https://give.curepsp.org/alyssal
Medford Community Chorale 