05/13/2022
I met Jordann Coleman through our daughters, who played soccer together this past winter. I met her daughter first, instantly liked her, and was thrilled our daughters became fast friends. Then I met Jordann and her husband, and they immediately impressed me. Like me, both played sports in college, and they are just good people.
I didn't even know their 9-year-old son, Carter, was diagnosed with "Maple Syrup Urine Disease," or MSUD. The rare metabolic disorder prohibits people from properly processing the protein found in foods. If untreated, the disease can lead to neurological damage, coma, and in some severe cases, even death.
Carter often came to soccer games and, like every sibling there, ran around playing on the sideline. Then, last month, Jordann told me about Carter's condition because she needed help. She knew I worked in tv news, and she was desperate.
Desperate because time is running out for Carter and thousands of others who depend on special medical food formula only produced at Abbott's Sturgis, Michigan manufacturing plant. Since February, the facility has been closed, and Carter is almost out of the formula that keeps him healthy.
I reached out to Stephanie Sierra, a reporter at ABC7 News, to help raise awareness. Watch her coverage below and consider reaching out to your local lawmakers like Mark DeSaulnier. "I will call the U.S. Food and Drug Administration director directly, and I'll do anything I can; this is not acceptable," said DeSaulnier. "It makes me angry."
Please spread the word.
"His life is at risk." 9-year-old Carter Coleman was diagnosed with a rare metabolic disorder just days after he was born and now relies on the medical formula for essential nutrients.
