The Olive Branch Fund: A Thisbe and Noah Scott Legacy
Elenna “Thisbe” Scott
was healthy the first 16 months of her life and sick beyond all comprehension
the last 17 months. It took five months to get a diagnosis. Thisbe’s
suffering was sickening. The progressive neurological disease slowly
robbed her of the basic essentials to life: eating, speaking, hearing,
swallowing, walking, breathing, laughing, and even smiling. Thisbe died
in April 2007 when she could fight no more. She was two months shy of
her third birthday.
One
month after Thisbe’s death, her brother, Noah, started showing
one of the initial symptoms of the disease at ten months old. Noah’s
vocal cords quickly became paralyzed as Thisbe’s had done. Noah
suffered facial paralysis and lost his smile. The disease took Noah in
April of 2008. This rare disease, Brown-Vialetto-Van Laere (BVVL) falls
into the family of diseases known as the pediatric motor neuron disorders,
causing the nerve cells responsible for the basic functions of life to
die. There are many forms of motor neuron disorders, one of which is
the number one genetic killer of toddlers and infants in the United States.
No child should have to suffer the merciless progression of these terrible diseases. It is the mission of The Olive Branch Fund: A Thisbe and Noah Scott Legacy to promote research, awareness, and support for families of all pediatric motor neuron diseases, including Brown-Vialetto-Van Laere.
Gifts of any size are welcome to the Olive Branch Fund, click here to donate.
