Categories
Home Based Business

Overland Park, Kansas student rides 150 miles to raise awareness [Video]

A 17-year-old Overland Park high school student is nearing the completion of an extraordinary bike ride to raise research funds and awareness for his exceptionally rare metabolic disorder.Carson Hunt is legally blind and has minimal vision. He was born with homocystinuria cblG (HCU), one of only 51 known cases worldwide for this strain.This condition leaves him constantly vulnerable to vision loss, strokes, heart attacks, and seizures.Born in Missouri, a state without a newborn screening test for HCU, it took doctors three months after Carsons birth to identify his condition. They offered his parents a bleak outlook.You probably should just take him home and love him because we dont know what to do, we dont know how to treat it, and weve never seen anything like this before, said Dana Hunt, Carsons mother, who advocates for newborn screening for HCU in every state.Im at an age where doctors didnt expect me to be alive at this point, and Im running out of methods. Now were just trying to find new ways for me to take my medicine, Carson said.As a baby, doctors warned Carsons parents that if he survived, he would likely never walk, talk, or have any vision.Despite having burned-out retinas, Carson has maintained minimal peripheral vision, which hasnt deteriorated in a decade. However, with HCU, he remains at constant risk for additional vision loss, strokes, seizures, and heart attacks.But this hasnt stopped him from being active his whole life. With the encouragement of his older brother Ethan, Carson has played soccer and basketball, skied, earned a black belt in taekwondo, and can ride a bike. He also currently plays the saxophone in Blue Valley Northwest High Schools Howlin Husky Marching Band.No one other than Carson has lived this long and this well with his condition. His constantly changing drug regimen is setting a prototype for managing the disorder. It has already helped 4-year-old Grayson Parke from Colorado, who shares the same strain of HCU, but so far, Grayson has suffered no side effects.It just feels so good being me; it can help others, Carson said.Its pretty incredible, and I think Carson represents our program with passion, purpose, and prideour three ideals here at the high school, said Kenneth Tysick, Blue Valley Northwest High School band director. It is amazing that he has these obstacles in his life yet is able to overcome them and participate like any other student in the marching band.I believe God has a plan for everyone. I dont know how long Ill live, but I just want to experience life to the fullest, Carson said.Carson has set a goal of riding his bike 150 miles in September to raise research funds and awareness for HCU.We have made it our mission to keep fighting to find a solution and to help unravel this medical mystery, Dana Hunt said.Carson plans to complete his 150-mile bike ride at The Kingdom Bar & Grille, located at 12655 Antioch Road in Overland Park, at 1 p.m. Sunday, with family, friends, and the community cheering him on at the finish line.It means a lot to see all these people supporting a local kid trying to achieve a goal of raising $20,000, Carson said.The restaurants owner is also planning to donate half of the proceeds from customers between 10 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. Sunday to help Carson reach his fundraising goal.Carson, a junior at Blue Valley Northwest High School, already plans to attend the University of Kansas, play in the schools marching band, and major in marketing.

Categories
Home Based Business

FAMU postpones upcoming home game against Alabama A&M because of threat of Helene [Video]

YOUR FORECAST COMING UP. WERE HEARING FROM SOME COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES WHICH ONES WILL CLOSE AND STAY OPEN AS TROPICAL STORM HELENE HAS NOW FORMED FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITYS TALLAHASSEE CAMPUS WILL CLOSE TOMORROW, AND IT WILL STAY CLOSED THROUGH SUNDAY. AS OF NOW, THERE ARE NO OPERATIONAL CHANGES FOR THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA CAMPUS IN GAINESVILLE. FLORIDA A&M IS CANCELING CLASSES FROM TODAY THROUGH FRIDAY. THE HOME FOOTBALL GAME FOR FAMU AND PARENTS AND FAMILY WEEKEND WILL BE RESCHEDULED AT USF CLASSES AND NORMAL BUSINESS OPERATIONS WILL CONTINUE AS SCHEDULED. BUT THAT COULD CHANGE ALSO, UCF HAS ALSO NOT ANNOUNCED ANY SCHEDULE CHANGES AS SOON AS ANY OF THESE CHANGE. WE OF COURSE, WILL UPDATE YOU AND STAY UP TO DATE ON THE TROPICS BY DOWNLOADING OUR APP. IT IS CONSTANTLY UPDATED WITH THE LATEST ADVISORIES. IT HAS EVERYTHING YOU NEED FOR YOUR HURRICANE KIT AS WELL. WE WILL SEND PUSH ALERTS AND CUT INTO PROGRAMING WH

Categories
Home Based Business

Council pushes for unified 911 dispatch centers [Video]

Theres a new push to solve Kansas Citys problem of long wait times for 911 callers.On Tuesday, the city councils Finance, Governance and Public Safety Committee unanimously passed a resolution directing City Manager Brian Platt to develop a plan to unify the police and fire departments 911 dispatch centers.Platt will then present the plan to the Board of Police Commissioners for a response.The most recent numbers from the Mid-America Regional Council (MARC) show that the average wait time for a 911 caller in August was 33 seconds. The longest wait time recorded was one hour, 47 minutes and 56 seconds.Wells Brown spent the first 24 days of his life in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). His mother, Devin, said it didnt have to be that way.As KMBC first reported on Sept. 9, both Devin and Wells lives were in danger on the day of his birth.In that time, we called 911 three times, and we were put on hold each time, Devin said.With numerous incidents like that one in mind, the committee discussed the resolution before passing it. Councilman Darrell Curls suggested that the city shouldnt have to wait too long for a response from the Board of Police Commissioners, which is scheduled to meet again on Oct. 29.I think the least we can do is ask for a timeline instead of an open-ended one, because then it will just sit on somebody’s desk, Curls said. The committee approved a friendly amendment asking for a response within 45 days.Leaders in both the police and fire departments have stated they need more personnel to handle the volume of 911 calls. Officials at the Kansas City Fire Department indicated that any added responsibility for 911 call taking would require not only more staffing but also a larger dispatch center.At the last Board of Police Commissioners meeting on Sept. 10, Kansas City Police Department Major Greg Williams said he could fully staff the 911 dispatch center in 18 months.Mayor Quinton Lucas mentioned he has heard about the staffing issue for two years. I understand it is a difficult job, but if they can figure out how to answer a 911 call in a more timely manner than we do in St. Louis, Chicago, Detroit or any number of American cities, why can’t we get that done here? he said.Devin Brown expressed her hope to see solutions to the 911 wait time problem. She also hopes no one else is affected by delays in 911 response.Devin is also hoping Wells can leave the NICU and come home soon.