A courageous and strong young lady, we are excited to create this concert for Kati and her friends and family!

Kati’s Story –

Kati was diagnosed with A-T when she was 2 years old. When Kati was 14 months old, she had a hard time sitting up by herself and she had a very wobbly gait. As soon as the pediatrician saw Kati walk, she thought she had a brain tumor and immediately recommended her to the Children’s Hospital for a CAT scan. After the CAT scan came back fine, we went to see a neurologist who gave us a diagnosis of “Clumsy Child Syndrome”. He told us that she would grow out of it. After a long summer, watching our baby continuing to stumble and fall, we returned to the pediatrician who ran a series blood tests which confirmed the diagnosis of A-T. We were blessed to get a diagnosis so quickly, since many of these kids are misdiagnosed for several years. In June of 2012, Kati was diagnosed with Large B Cell Lymphoma. She underwent treatment for 4 months and is now cancer free.

Kati and her big sister Amy continue to be the center of our life. Hardly a day passes when their relationship doesn’t inspire us. They show uncommon patience and love for each other that set an example of how people should treat each other. The uncertainty and lack of answers on how the disease will progress creates a steady stress in our life that would be unbearable without our faith. Kati is a fearless but shy 12 year old child who enjoys skiing at Winter Park, horseback riding, swimming and adaptive soccer. Kati’s is now in a wheelchair to help her conserve energy. This was an emotional milestone that reminds us of the relentless and cruel progression that comes with AT. As usual, the kids in our family handled the stress better than the parents. Our family has been blessed by the support of our faith, friends and warm community. These angels from heaven make this disease and journey less difficult.