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CURE
benefit to help battle epilepsy
Sept.
2, 2003
MELISSA
A. CHADWICK
Observer-Dispatch
More
than 2.5 million Americans suffer from epilepsy, and
Utica resident Christopher Donalty was one of the thousands
of people who died from the condition in 2002.
A
high-achieving academic and athlete, Donalty was 21
when he died of sudden unexplained death from epilepsy.
Now,
his family and friends are paying tribute to Donalty
with The Christopher Donalty CURE Benefit Thursday at
Alfredo's in New Hartford. The event will raise money
for Citizens United for Research in Epilepsy.
"The
only acceptable course of action for us at this point
is to try to raise money and awareness," said his
mother, Jeanne Donalty. "If the medicines don't
work and surgery doesn't work, then people have to learn
to live with the seizures, and that's unacceptable to
us."
In
May, Jeanne Donalty spoke before the U.S. House of Representatives
Appropriations Committee about the need for increased
funding for epilepsy.
CURE
has raised approximately $1.5 million research dollars
and funded three research projects in New York.
As
of Monday night, more than 750 tickets had been sold
for Thursday's event, which makes the event "basically
sold out," said Donalty. Susan Axelrod, the president
and founder of CURE, will speak at the event.
Donalty,
the Utica district office manager for Rep. Sherwood
Boehlert, and her husband, Oneida County Court Judge
Barry Donalty, plan to regularly raise funds for the
cause.
"Our
long-term goal is to continue (in the Utica area) to
build on this effort and continue to raise funds for
epilepsy research and to build public awareness,"
she said.
"No
one ever wanted to talk about this disease," she
said. "It's not pleasant to see someone having
a seizure. Chris never hid his epilepsy."
HOW
TO HELP
To
make a donation to the Christopher Donalty CURE fund,
contact chairman George Aney at 866-6600.
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