Happy 7th Birthday Brenna

"Sisters are for sharing laughter and wiping tears."
Author Unknown

Oldies 103 Make A Wish Radio A Thon. Hailey & Brenna got to meet the Rocketts.


Welcome to Hailey & Brenna's web page. We have created this page to keep you updated on how they are doing and share photo's with you.

Hailey is now 6 years old and was diagnosed when she was 4 years old with Mitochondrial Disease and impaired fatty acid oxidation in May 2003. Brenna is now 4 years old and received the same diagnosis in January of 2004 when she was 2 years old. Their mom received a mito diagnosis in October of 2004. Their cousin Cameron (2 yrs) who you often see pictured here with them was also undergoing being diagnosed with mito.

Despite all that Hailey and Brenna have been through & continue to go through on a daily basis they are both very happy little girls. They look out for each other & get very concerned when the other is sick. They have had many ER trips and hospital admission together. They love playing dress up and of course being any of the disney princesses.

In May of 2004 Hailey went on her Make A Wish Trip to Disneyland California to see Sleeping Beauty Castle. It was everything that Hailey (& Brenna) had wanted it to be and more. We had a great time, lots of photo's & memories to look at and talk about for years.


What is Mito? Mitochondria are found in every cell of the human body except your red blood cells. The Mitochondria are the “powerhouse” of the cell, they are responsible for determining when our cells die, and they act as your body’s engine. When you have mitochondrial disease, your “engine” doesn’t work right because the food you eat, your “gas” doesn’t break down properly to make the engine work. As a result, any organ system in your body can be affected, and the disease progressively gets worse and can ultimately be fatale.

How Hailey is affected: easy fatigability, reduced stamina, unusually severe reactions to infections, autonomic dysfunction, heat intolerance, hypoketotic hypoglycemia, impaired fatty acid oxidation, urinary retention/bladder dysfunction, delayed gastric emptying, GERD, neuropathy & muscle cramping. Hailey had a port a cath placed in July 04 to receive IV fluids, meds & lab draws. In December 2004 after a hospital admission Hailey came home with her port accessed and receives 700 cc of D5 1/2 NS IV fluids 14 hrs per night. Hailey is currently followed by 12 doctors.

How Brenna is affected: Significant diffuse hypotonia, easy fatigability, poor stamina, intermittent bladder dysfunction w/ urinary retention, GERD, Vesicoureteral reflux, impaired fatty acid oxidation, severe responses to illnesses & infections, irregular heart rate, temperature dysregulations, poor heat tolerance, muscle cramping & neuropathy. Brenna had a port a cath placed in August 04 for her to received IV fluids, lab draws or meds. Brenna now receives 12 hrs IV fluids nightly through her port a cath. Brenna is currently followed by 14 doctors. Brenna will begin IVIG in January 06 in hopes to improve her immune system.

We participated in The Boston Harbor Walk to Benefit The Floating Hospital for Children on June 13, 2004. Our team
"Team Mito" raised over $37,000 for the metabolism clinic. The Old Colony Memorial a local newspaper did 3 front page articles on Mitochondrial Disease, parts of the articles can be found at the links below.
1st Article
2nd Article
3rd Article





Christmas and New Years Eve 2006








Please be so kind as to sign ~ Hailey and Brenna love to read all your messages!!!

Our friends that have passed away from Mitochondrial Disease~

Jessalyn
October 1, 2001 - December 8, 2002

Andrew
July 4, 1996 - May 26, 2003

Michaela
July 8, 1993 - November 4, 2003

Mame
January 15, 1993 - December 23, 2003

Heather
September 25, 2002 - September 16, 2005

Eli
February 15, 2003 - November 25, 2005

E-mail Author: kerry.tobin@verizon.net

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Note: The foregoing information was authored by the patient, parent or guardian, or other parties who are solely responsible for the content. Such announcements or their content are not necessarily endorsed by CaringBridge, Inc. or any sponsoring agent.  This information does not confirm that anyone is or was actually a patient at any facility.