Dear Reader,

My Name is Gavin McDonald and I have CMT. Charcot- Marie Tooth Syndrome (CMT) is a Neurological disorder that I could spend hours trying to define in medical or scientific terms. The truth is, I’ll never understand how it affects me in those ways, but I do know how it affects me through everything I feel and my experience. I have a metal rod in my back for my scoliosis, and tendons rerouted through my foot like the reorganization of a highway system. Sometimes I have trouble feeling temperatures and sometimes I wish I felt them less. Sometimes I can’t open a bottle and sometimes I can. I can stumble and trip when I walk and I have a constant source of pain. Sometimes I also fish. Sometimes I like to swim. I watch stand up comedy and I love photography. I love the Philadelphia Eagles, nature and travel. I am a person, a superhero, and I am just one of many. CMT is a community, a family, and we are almost 3 million big. I only recently met others with CMT at the Denver research summit for the CMTA ( Charcot -Marie Tooth Association ). The immediate impact it had on me to be able to share experiences I never thought anybody would be able to understand will change the course of my life. There is so much that can be done mentally and medically to help millions of people who live with CMT around the world today. The CMTA is a nonprofit organization that funds research and social events for people with CMT from all over the world. By donating, you are not only helping the support of a cure, you are becoming a pillar in creating a positive and safe community for individuals with CMT. THE CMTA has many youth and young adult programs that are absolutely life changing and you have a chance to be the difference! Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,

Gavin McDonald