Sarah's Cure

I've written about Galactosemia before.

People with galactosemia digest lactose properly, splitting it into the simple sugars glucose and galactose, but they lack the enzyme that converts the galactose into more glucose. The galactose accumulates in the bloodstream and effectively poisons the body. This otherwise completely harmless sugar can lead to brain damage, blindness and death through liver failure. Only one in 80,000 babies are born with this condition.

Sarah Southard of Texas is another little girl with this lifelong problem. Because it is so rare, there has been little research and no possibility of a cure in sight. Her family wants to change that.

An article by Jessica Langdon in the Wichita Falls TimesRecordNews reports that for the second year they're staging a fundraiser called "Sarah's Cure."

For the second year in a row, the Southards are inviting the North Texas community to help Sarah — and all children who have Galactosemia — during an October Saturday filled with fun and Texas music in Decatur.

The event is called “Sarah’s Cure,” and this year, it’s a project of a group the Southards spearheaded — a nonprofit organization called Galactosemic Families of the Southern States. Funds will go to the national group, Parents of Galactosemic Children Inc., to help fuel research.

For more information:

Parents of Galactosemic Children Inc.

Parents of Galactosemic Children, Inc. (PGC) is a national, non-profit, volunteer organization whose mission is to provide information, support, and networking opportunities to families affected by galactosemia.

Galactosemic Families of the Southern States.

Galactosemic Families of the Southern States is a non-profit, volunteer organization that was created by parents just like you. We are a support system for families in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana who live with galactosemia everyday.