Those who have been impacted by Dyskeratosis Congenita/Telomere Biology Disorders have a beautiful story to share. We want to hear your story and we want others to hear it too. We encourage you to use this forum to share your experiences, with the hope that it will offer encouragement to those who read it, and provide a way for families to connect and support one another. This forum is not intended as a vehicle for promoting other charities or personal causes. Therefore we ask that your submissions not include solicitations for donations or promotions of any kind. We reserve the right to edit content deemed inappropriate in this regard.
In June of 2019, at 5 years old, we took Kyndall to her pediatrician because she was covered from head to toe in bruises and petechia. Her bloodwork showed critically low platelets and white blood cells so we were immediately sent to Omaha Children's Hospital. She had...
For generations, my family has suffered from illnesses associated with telomeres disorders. Since the rare TERC gene is a recent discovery, the cause of my family’s consistency with terminal illnesses was unknown for a long time. My father was the first to receive a...
Josh Friedman was born on June 24, 1994 and passed away on November 18, 2011. In between he made countless friends, was a Best Buddy at Unionville HS, an actor in multiple productions including his famous role of Tiny Tim in a Christmas Carol, was a camper at...
Ruthie is 20 months old. She has recently been diagnosed with DC. More specifically, she has Revesz syndrome. She has many things that led us to this diagnosis. An esophageal stenosis, ataxic movement, balance issues, calcifications on her brain, etc. We are in the...
Gabby is a spunky kid living in New Zealand with her mum and dad, Megan and Andrew, and her older sister and brother, Ruby and Lachlan. Gabby's first trip to hospital was in November 2014 at the age of 4, following a blood test that showed blood counts were all rock...
Where do I begin to describe my Alex? He was such an old soul filled with so much knowledge and love. Alex endured more in his sixteen years than most do in a lifetime, every medical obstacle was tackled with a smile and a pragmatic approach. Alexs main goal in life...
Although he never grew very tall, Peter Ramesh Futia lived large. Born with several genetic mutations, including the one on RTEL1 that caused his Dyskeratosis Congenita, he never let his challenges slow him down. Peter was diagnosed with DC at age 16 and enjoyed seven...
My name is Brigitte N. Padin Feliciano and I'm from Puerto Rico. I have two sons: Dwayne Soto (8 years old), and Darrell Soto (4 years old). Since 3 years ago, my eldest son (Dwayne) began to have nails atrophy, oral leukoplakia and a little pigmentation in his ears....
Grayson Little is 2 years old, diagnosed with Hoyeraal-Hreidarsson Syndrome/ Dyskeratosis Congenita. He carries two TERT gene mutations, inherited from each of his parents, Rachel and Leighton, and has Telomere lengths <1%tile. Grayson first experienced symptoms...
In 2015 our daughter, Megan, was diagnosed with moderate Aplastic Anemia, bone marrow failure at the age of 13. As part of that diagnosis process, she had extensive testing to try and determine the cause. That process included telomere length testing. We were told she...