More mito awareness

It's mito awareness week as most of my friends and family know, but a few still seem wrapped up in their own lives. I'm not really surprised, it happens during CF awareness too. I do not for one second think I am the center of the universe, but it would be nice if some of my loved ones at least acted like they were interested in a cure. For either illness. It isn't as if we only get to pick one charity/disease to champion so I am not sure why it is like pulling teeth to get them to come out to an event or to share a post to raise awareness.

Back to raising awareness...

Mitochondria are in almost every cell in the body, and produce 90% of energy needed by the body to function. When there is a dysfunction in the mitochondria the body is not able to convert food and oxygen to energy. The heart, brain, muscles and lungs, are the most affected by mitochondrial disease because the require the most energy. Someone affected may have strokes, seizures, gastro-intestinal problems, (reflux, severe vomiting, constipation, diarrhea), swallowing difficulties, failure to thrive, blindness, deafness, heart and kidney problems, muscle failure, heat/cold intolerance, diabetes, lactic acidosis, immune system problems and liver disease.


Some of my symptoms overlap with my cystic fibrosis, so I guess in a sense I got a double whammy. Please go to UMDF.org for more information on mitochondrial disease and how you can help. Another good site to check out is mitoaction.org