Claire English, now a 4th grader at BrookKnollElementary School in ScottsValley, was born a healthy baby that loved to laugh and play. However, after her first birthday, she was not able to pull herself up to stand. When she was two years old, she was diagnosed with a rare genetic disorder called Rett Syndrome.
This syndrome, named for the Austrian physician who discovered it, is a neuro-developmenal disorder that almost exclusively affects girls. One in 10,000 or 15,000 live female births in all racial and ethnic groups worldwide will have this rare disorder. According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke website, the symptoms are “a slowing of development, loss of purposeful use of the hands, distinctive hand movements, slowed brain and head growth, problems with walking, seizures, and intellectual disability.”
Claire and her family count themselves lucky to be living next door to retired police officer John Hohmann and his wife, Stephanie, who are organizing a fundraiser at the Watsonville Speedway this Friday, September 25th to raise funds for the Rettland Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit for research to cure this devastating illness.
The race will have eight female racers representing various local police departments. Behind the wheel will be Stephanie Hohmann and Rachell Milroy of the Scotts Valley Police Department, Marisa MacDonald of the Santa Cruz Sheriff’s Office, Jodi Sloma of the Capitola Police Department, Leanna Vasquez and Dominique Hohmann of the Santa Cruz Police Department, Jennifer Parker of the Task Force, Serina Jones of the California Highway Patrol and Sam Traub of Watsonville Police Department.
The event starts at 6:00 p.m. with Claire’s Race happening at around 6:30 or 7:00 p.m. Everyone is invited to come out to the Speedway and support this wonderful fundraiser for Claire and other girls suffering from this very unusual illness. Watch those girls go!
