My son Bryson needs your help.
Bryson is an amazing little guy with a charming personality and a movie star smile.
He also has a severe, genetic brain condition known as a GRIN Disorder, which impairs his brain’s ability to learn, grow and develop.
He is 13 years old, but he can’t walk, talk, or feed himself, and must rely on others to help him navigate his world.
This month, we are teaming up with families around the world to try to raise $250,000 for GRIN Disorder research.
Every dollar helps! Will you help our family reach our $5,000 goal?
Help us CureGRIN
There are two options for donations:
Canadian donors can get a tax receipt by donating through the University of Toronto, home to world leading GRIN Disorder researchers. If you donate through U of T, please let me know so we can add your donation to Bryson’s total.
Click here to help through the University of Toronto’s GRIN Disorders Research Fund.
US donors get a tax receipt through Bryson’s page at the CureGRIN Foundation a 501(c)(3) charity.
Click here to help through the CureGRIN Foundation.
There is hope
There are over 500 known kids and adults with GRIN Disorders around the world, and thousands more that have yet to be diagnosed. Patients suffer from a range of conditions including devastating seizures, severe intellectual disabilities, and visual impairment.
It was just over a year ago that I began speaking with researchers who told me something I hadn’t heard before – that a cure for GRIN Disorders is coming. That’s because scientists at universities, hospitals and biotech companies are focused on studying NMDA receptors — the part of the brain that doesn’t work properly when there is a GRIN Disorder.
Where will the money go?
The promise of a cure is why I helped found the CureGRIN Foundation. Our goal is to find cures and therapies for GRIN Disorders as quickly as possible. And after conversations with dozens of researchers, CureGRIN has identified three spending priorities.
- Foundational research that will make things easier for researchers working on GRIN Disorders and attract more scientists to our cause. This includes investing in the development and sharing of animal models, the coordination and support of patient registries and natural history studies, and research into identifying biomarkers that would allow researchers to know if a cure is working.
- Build a broad and relevant research network, by raising awareness of GRIN disorders among biotech execs, NMDA researchers, and pediatric neurologists worldwide. We will work with these stakeholders and parents to identify the top research priorities that will most quickly lead to cures and therapies.
- Award grants to researchers according to the priorities identified in Step 2. This will be done through a formal, rigorous request for applications and review process.
Please donate today to help Bryson cure GRIN Disorders through the University of Toronto’s GRIN Disorder Research Fund or through the CureGRIN Foundation, a US-based 501(c)(3) charity.
I just donated $25 to the U of T GRIN Disorders Fund. Brian Cross