Step By Step: Raise Awareness for EG

"Eosinophilic Gastritis (EG) is an uncommon gastrointestinal disease affecting both children and adults. Increases in a type of white blood cell, the Eosinophil, causes severe pain, injury & internal bleeding to the stomach.  Mal-absorption of vital nutrients results along with a whole host of medical problems. The cause is unknown. Minimal research has been done on this disease, mostly due to a lack of funding. " 
    You're probably wondering why I'm telling you all of this. Well, I just found out someone I've been following on Twitter for quite some time, Emily has a relative who has EG, a twin sister. 
    Emily and Caroline Harris are nothing short of extraordinary.  Both of these girls are hardworking high school seniors, taking plenty of AP and honors classes. They're a part of the National Honor Society. They participate in numerous clubs and extracurricular activities ranging from newspaper to the Red Cross Club. Emily is even a blogger on YouTube and one half of Stealing Jade, the twin sisters' band. Caroline, the other half of Stealing Jade, is the one that has been diagnosed with EG. 
    Her freshman year of high school, Caroline started getting bad stomach episodes. Emily and her mom could tell something had changed. In June 2011, Caroline and her mom started going to numerous doctors until Caroline was finally diagnosed with EG. 400 people have been diagnosed with EG and there is not a lot of research on the subject matter. How do we fix that?
    Emily, Caroline, and their mom came up with the organization Step by Step.  Emily wanted to help her sister out but both girls have decided they want to start a movement. 
    "The girls are teaming up with the Giving Hope Program at Cincinnati Children's Hospital where all donations will go directly to a designated research center for Eosinophilic Gastritis to find a cure, to turn that unknown into a known. They chose this specific research center, Cincinnati Center for Eosinophilic Disorders (CCED) because it is the most comprehensive facility designated for researching EG. Caroline has been diagnosed with this painful disease that has left her quite ill.  And so, they have decided to be proactive together in bringing attention to (EG) in hopes to find a cure for Caroline and others too who suffer from this miserable illness."
    How can we help? By signing up for the Step by Step: 5k Run/Walk for EG which is this Saturday, October 12th,  or donating. You can even help by sharing this blog and Emily's video! Remember, no donation is too big or too small especially on something we know very little about. 
    Make sure you visit the website!

Good luck to everyone in the race!
- Cydney