FrankiePants News Flash

We now interrupt your regularly scheduled boring reports of drunken parenting to request help for Frankie, a former coworker's nephew who was recently diagnosed with mucopolysaccharide III Type A or Sanfilippo Syndrome, which is a genetic disorder.

Frankie is lacking a key enzyme. Without treatment, Frankie would lose the ability to walk and talk. Life expectancy for a child suffering from Sanfilippo is 10-15 years of age.

Frankie is living at Duke Medical Center for about six months with his parents while undergoing an umbilical stem cell transplant, chemotherapy, and recovery.

The family is working w/ COTA (Children's Organ Transplant Association) to assist them with fundraising. COTA has given Frankie's family a goal to reach of $85,000 to assist with all of his transplant and treatment needs. www.cota.com

This is where YOU come in, my readership of 7! Frankie's aunt Lauren will be collecting cell phones, even/especially NON-WORKING ones, from now until NOVEMBER 1, 2005. For each cell phone she turns in, $3.00 gets contributed to Frankie's fund. If you have a cell phone to donate, please contact me via email, and I will send you the mailing address.

If you don't have a cell phone to donate, but you still want to help out, you can make a donation directly to COTA on behalf of Frankie. Please note that ALL DONATIONS ARE TAX DEDUCTIBLE. Donations can be made to Frankie's fund through his link on the COTA web site (Frankie's Fund) or mailed directly to COTA at

COTA
2501 COTA Drive
Bloomington, IN 47403.

When mailing in a donation to COTA, please make sure to write "Frankie D" in the memo field of your check.

Thanks for all your help!