About Our Kids

At the top of our website, in the banner, you will see the faces of several children.  Those faces will change from time to time.  When they do, we will always give you their story on this page.  We want you to know the faces behind the laws.  The kids in the current banner, from left to right:

Joey Bergsma - You can read a lot more about Joey on his Grandma's website - LoveJoey.com.  Joey was the driving force behind KidsPlea.Org.  Joey was a happy bouncing baby boy when he was born in 1997.  When he passed away on December 22, 2000, he was not!  Retinoblastoma had needlessly taken his life, after it took his vision and his eye.  We could go into minute detail about the horrors that Joey went through in his very short life, as a result of this cancer; but we need only tell you that NO child should ever have to endure this.  Help us to pass the legislation that will make that possible.

William - William was diagnosed with the same rare cancer that killed Joey, but William is alive today.  His mother read Joey's story in the National Enquirer explaining the 'personal picture' phenomenon of this cancer.  The picture that first alerted Latisha to the problem was taken at his first birthday.  His Mom called his pediatrician and asked him about his eye and was told he would check it out at his next appointment, 3 months away!  William went from his 15 month well-baby visit  to Texas Children's Hospital.  His eye was later removed to save his life!  If legislation were passed to mandate infant eye examinations, as proposed in our Infant Eye Care bill, William might still have his eye and vision.

Sami Gray - The next two pictures are of Sami Gray, who was diagnosed with Neuroblastoma on November 16, 2001.  We wanted you to see pics of Sami during treatment and Sami today, because her heatlh today is a product of the miracle of stem cell transplantation.  Which brings to the forefront the controversy over stem cell research.  Effective stem cell transplantion is about something more than politics, it is about real people, including kids.  Sami was blessed to be able to use her own stem cells in her transplantation treatment, as you can read at Sami's Website; but what if they were not usable?  Then what?  The world needs Sami and all the kids like her!

Nicholas - He was 2 1/2 years old in this picture.  His mother saw Joey's poster hanging in a Pizzeria in Miami.  She looked at photos she had just developed and found this one.  The next day the pediatric ophthalmologist said he was going blind.  What he had in the one eye was starting to develop in the other eye.  Because of his Mom's actions and Pam's political activism, Nicholas will wear glasses for 2 years and then have perfect vision when he starts school.  He has a refractive disorder which blinds the child if not detected early.  We hope that our Infant Eye Care bill will stop this from happening to other children.