Mighty MITO Warrior

Travel the world bringing awareness to Mitochondrial Disease.

Mighty MITO Warrior was released in Honor of Owen, who lost his battle with an extremely rare form of a MITO disease complicated by numerous other health issue, including Infantile Spasms,  just 10 days shy of his first birthday.  

Mitochondria are the “energy factory” of our body. Their job is to process oxygen and convert substances from the foods we eat into energy. Mitochondria produce 90% of the energy our body needs to function. Mitochondrial diseases are long-term, genetic, often inherited disorders that occur when mitochondria fail to produce enough energy for the body to function properly. One in 5,000 individuals has a genetic mitochondrial disease. 

Symptoms of mitochondrial diseases depend on which cells of the body are affected. Patients symptoms can range from mild to severe, involve one or more organs, and can occur at any age. Even patients within the same family who have the same mitochondrial disease can have differences in symptoms, severity, and age of onset.

The parts of the body, such as the heart, brain, muscles and lungs, requiring the greatest amounts of energy are the most affected. Mitochondrial disease is difficult to diagnose, because it affects each individual differently. Symptoms can include seizures, strokes, severe developmental delays, inability to walk, talk, see, and digest food combined with a host of other complications. If three or more organ systems are involved, mitochondrial disease should be suspected.

Infantile Spasms - These seizures consumed our sweet baby’s brain for most of his life - some days they were somewhat controlled, but most days they occurred and disrupted his brain activity all day long.  Awareness is critical for obtaining early treatment to avoid severe developmental delays.