<p>5/16/16</p><p>Hello,</p><p>I would like to introduce you to a beautiful, little girl named Cassidy Nicholas. Cassidy was born in August 2012 with Treacher Collins Syndrome, a rare genetic disorder that was a result of a spontaneous mutation of the fifth chromosome causing malformation of her facial bones. Cassidy has a severe case of TCS. Neither her parents nor team of doctors knew she was afflicted with this syndrome before her birth. She was immediately intubated after birth as she was born with no viable airway and a tracheostomy was performed when she was just two days old. Cassidy was born with choanal atresia; there was no passage between her nose and mouth, micrognathia; her jaw is underdeveloped lacking hinges and growth sacs and mylar hypoplasia; she lacks cheek bones. In addition to these abnormalities, Cassidy also has bilateral microtia; which means she was born without ear canals, ear drums or ear bones. Her ear lobes are undeveloped and she is also missing an inner ear canal on each side. Fortunately, her cochlear nerves are intact and she is able to hear with the assistance of a soft band bone anchored hearing aid. Additionally, Cassidy was born with a cleft soft palate. After a six week stay in the Tufts Medical Center NICU, she went home with her parents, Eva and Jeremy. She has already undergone many surgeries and faces numerous more for years to come.</p><p>Recently, Cassidy underwent a sleep study at Tufts Medical Center Floating Hospital in which her trach was capped overnight and the test results were encouraging. There was hope that her jaw had begun to develop and she would finally have her trach removed and begin to live her life more like that of a typical little girl. Cassidy was excited that she would be able to swim and go to preschool without a nurse at her side but those hopes were dashed when a follow up CT Scan of her jaw showed no progress in its development. The prognosis is major surgery to remove rib bone which will be sculpted and grafted to what little jaw bone she currently has. She will undergo a series of surgeries throughout her adolescent years to make the needed adjustments as the bone grows. </p><p>The 4th Annual Cassidy’s 5k Run and Fun Walk will be held on September 25, 2016 at 11:00 AM at The Winner’s Circle, 211 Elm Street, Salisbury, MA. We are interested in financial sponsorships as well as items that can be raffled off. All proceeds from this race will go directly to Cassidy and the Nicholas family to offset costs of her future surgeries, which include construction of prosthetic cheek bones and ears, as well as restructuring her nose and eyelids. In addition to aiding Cassidy, her parents will donate a portion of the proceeds to another Treacher Collins family also in need of assistance. With your help, Cassidy can look forward to living a life with a normal face, will you consider helping her achieve that? </p><p>For more information on Cassidy please visit: www.facebook.com/pages/Cassidys-Crusaders/131779680300237</p><p>Sincerely, Cassidy’s Crusaders 84 Audubon Road Rachel Jones, Donations Coordinator Haverhill, MA 01830 603-548-9609 [email protected] Tax ID number-04-2767835</p>