What is K.U.R.E.? 

 

In the Spring of 2005 one ten year old girl asked her doctor where to find the other children with her disease daignosis.  She wanted to know where they were, how they were, and what their future health would likely be.  Her doctor explained that he could not provide those answers to her at the time, the information the child wanted was not available.

 

The physician, Dr. Douglas Jabs, presented his ten year old patient, Sarah, with a challenge.  Sarah could participate in finding the answers she was looking for... K.U.R.E. (Kids Uveitis, Research and Education) was founded in July of 2005.

 

K.U.R.E.'s objective:  to locate and follow children with Uveitis (an inflammatory disease of the eye, usually caused by an auto-immune disease); and to provide these children and their physicans with the appropriate medical treatment plans to ensure future vision.

 

You may be wondering- why is this important?  The answer is that children with Uveitis can and do go blind without proper medical treatment.  Even with the best medical care possible, Uveitis can bring years of  medications, injections, surgeries, complications and challenges to children.  As it stands today, more than half of  the children with Uveitis seen at referral centers for evaluation and treatment have already experienced significant visual complications.  These visual complications, which cannot be reversed, can cause limited or loss of vision for the rest of their lives.  K.U.R.E. hopes to end blindness and loss of vision for these children.

 

Where Things are Now &  Where they are Going

Not quite three years since K.U.R.E. was founded, Sarah's fund raising efforts have exceeded the initial goal of $100,000 to fund Juvenile Idiopathic Uveitis research and education.  In 2008 Sarah is turning her focus to patient care environments.  Please read the following excerpt from Sarah's recent fundraising letter:

"...I am developing a program with The Mt. Sinai Medical Center and Wilmer Eye Institute at Johns Hopkins.  Both hospitals are building new patient care areas, I would like to have K.U.R.E. sponsor an area devoted to children where toys, furniture, activities, and books (all kinds Braille books, too) are available for children.  I would like for these areas to provide a silver lining for children who have to visit their doctor and to be a place they would look forward to visiting again.  My wish would be for children to know that they have a place that was created with them in mind; where they have been remembered."

We love the idea of  helping children get through visits and procedures with their physician by creating an environment and coping tools with them in mind.  It would be quite an innovation, really; children seeking care knowing that they were thought of and considered before they walked through the door of the medical setting.  If you would like to help fund Sarah's newest intiative, see "How to Donate to K.U.R.E."