Proclamation - A - T DayWHEREAS,
Ataxia-telangiectasis, or A-T is a progressive, degenerative disease that
normally appears during the second year of life, beginning with a "wobbly"
lack of balance and slurred speech; and
WHEREAS,
approximately one child in 40,000 may be born with this disease and it
respects no racial, economic, geographic or educational barriers, with both
males and females equally affected; and
WHEREAS,
children born with A-T suffer a progressive degeneration of a portion of the
brain, which leads to lack of muscle control, confining the patient to a
wheelchair and limiting their ability to write, talk, and read; and
WHEREAS,
for most children with A-T, a problem with immunodeficiency brings
recurrent respiratory infections, which become life-threatening pneumonia
as they do not respond to typical antibiotic treatments; and
WHEREAS,
cancer in its various malignant forms strikes children with A-T almost 1000
times more frequently than the general population, and because of the
various severe health degenerations, most children die by their teens or
early 20's; and
WHEREAS, because A-T is a rare, "orphan" disease, very little research data is
available; and
WHEREAS, Dubuque is having a walk at Murphy Park on Saturday, September 8, 200t
at 10:00 A.M. to raise awareness of this unique, debilitating disease.
NOW THEREFORE, I, TERRANCE M. DUGGAN, MAYOR OF THE CITY OF DUBUQUE DO
HEREBY PROCLAIM SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2001 AS:
"AWARENESS DA Y FOR A-T"
IN DUBUQUE, IOWA.
IN WITNESS THEREOF, I have hereunto
set my hand and caused the Great Seal
of City of Dubuque, IA to be affixed this
4th day of September, 2001.
Terrance M. Duggan, MAYOR
Attest:
Jeanne F. Schneider, City Clerk