Beth Karas

Story

I am fundraising in memory of my brothers Joseph and Jonathan Karas and to raise awareness of the MPS and ML disorders. Both of my brothers had ML-III. I had the joy of having them in my life until Jonathan was 34 years old (he passed on November 10, 1993) and until Joseph was 46 years old (he passed on September 19, 2001).

It is hard to believe that Jonathan has been gone for more than 20 years as my daily memories of him are still so vivid. Eight years after his death, I was standing at Ground Zero. It was a week after the 9/11 attacks and I received the dreaded news that my older brother, Joseph, whose health was failing was about to lose his fight to live. He died the following day. It was after my brothers’ passing that I became involved with the National MPS Society, perhaps as an effort to feel closer to them. Their devastating disease, ML-III, and all the MPS disorders are rare genetic diseases that don’t get the same attention and funding for research as more common diseases. MPS research in the past decade, however, has made great strides in treatments to improve the quality of life for those lucky enough to qualify for them. But, there is so much more to do. Your donation will help us reach our goal to find cures.

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