Shelby Valint, the 12-year-old Phoenix girl whose sequenced genome led her from a wheelchair to walking, is raising funds for the non-profit Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen).
The “Shelby Valint Inspiration Fundraiser” will generate needed research dollars for TGen’s Center for Rare Childhood Disorders (C4RCD). It was research through this innovative unit at TGen that helped enable Shelby to go from a wheelchair to walking.
“TGen has done so much for me,” Shelby said. “Now, I want to do something for TGen so they can continue to help other children like me with rare medical disorders.”
The fundraiser is being organized by Shelby’s mother, Renee Valint, and by one of Shelby’s 7th Grade teachers, Tracy Livingston, whose husband – the Honorable Rep. David Livingston – is a freshman member of the Arizona House of Representatives, representing the north Valley’s District 22.
“In October, TGen launched their Center for Rare Childhood Disorders, which is helping parents in Arizona find answers and treatment for their children,” said Rep. Livingston, who has invited Gov. Jan Brewer and members of the Arizona Legislature to the fundraiser at the home of Shelby’s parents, Renee and Scott Valint – 1-5 p.m. April 6 at 1517 E. Red Range Way, about a mile south of Carefree Highway, just east of 14th Street.
“In my recent tour of TGen’s facilities, I saw first-hand the cutting-edge research, tools and technology being used to help children like Shelby,” Rep. Livingston said. “My wife, Tracy … has personally seen Shelby’s amazing transformation.”
By sequencing, or spelling out, the nearly 3 billion letters in Shelby’s DNA, TGen researchers found a gene that prevented Shelby from producing sufficient amounts of a brain chemical called dopamine, which is needed for balance and muscle control.
Using a combination of drugs usually given to older persons for treatment of Parkinson’s disease, Shelby was able within several weeks to abandon her wheelchair. She was able to more easily walk, talk, eat and even breathe, generally restoring her to a normal functioning child.
“Before TGen’s discovery, we had been through an enormous amount of despair with all the doctor visits and tests, and I had watched helplessly as Shelby was poked and prodded with a heart-wrenching number of needles and IVs,” Renee Valint said. “Shelby’s newfound ability to walk and talk, and generally lead a normal life, is a testament to the unwavering dedication to helping patients exhibited by the scientists at TGen.”
To see Shelby’s amazing transformation from a girl who was unable to walk, talk and eat to a girl who dances across the room, watch this recent story from CBS 5 News.
