Can you help us support more HIE families Betsy?

Last week's theme for HIE Awareness Month is SUPPORT, and this week is COMMUNITY. Support is at the core of who we are and who we've always been as an organization, building support around our global HIE community.

While we received exceptional medical care for my son Max, I remember deeply, 10 years later, the feeling of loneliness sitting in the NICU, surrounded by preemies and feeling like a fish out of water. I remember asking to be connected to other families, for any connections to a support group for what we had been through, and we were told there weren't any. That felt even more isolating.

I also remember the large exhale and tears of validation that streamed down my face when I found Hope for HIE, a fledgling Facebook group at the time, started by three moms in 2011 just like me, and connecting around 200 families at the time, from all over the world.

What drives us all here at Hope for HIE is to ensure no family faces HIE alone, no matter where they live, what caused their HIE, what their outcome is... we are always Better Together, and it is this relentless pursuit that now connects over 7,000 families today.

NEW! Partner in Hope - ReAlta Life Sciences, Inc.

We are so thrilled to announce today that we have a new supporter in our Partner in Hope program. ReAlta Life Sciences, Inc. is a clinical-stage, rare disease biotech company dedicated to harnessing the power of the immune system to address life threatening diseases. The Company’s EPICC peptides are based on research into the human astrovirus HAstV-1, which causes a non-inflammatory, self-limiting gastroenteritis unique among viruses by inhibiting components of the innate immune system. ReAlta’s therapeutic peptides leverage these virus-derived mechanisms to rebalance complement and inflammatory processes in the body. The company’s pipeline is led by RLS-0071, which has received IND clearance, and Orphan Drug Designation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and European Medicines Agency for the treatment of hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) in neonates. The company launched in 2018 and is located in Norfolk, Virginia.

Read more below!

We cannot do this work without you and your support. And we want to thank you for being a part of our community of support. Whether you are a HIE family, a grandparent, a donor, a physician or community member, you are how we can develop new programs like the weekly video support groups we now have led by our own Hope for HIE social worker, and the almost-ready-to-launch peer support mentor program for new families to HIE and new families facing loss due to HIE.

Please take a look at a recap of last week's events and announcements, and a look at what's happening this week as we close out HIE Awareness Month!

Most sincerely,

Betsy Pilon

Executive Director

Get involved! Both our website of HIEawarenessmonth.com, and our social channels have ongoing, daily ideas to get you involved in advocacy and support!