On Sunday, September 18, 2011, many families in the Northampton area will be taking part in the exciting BIKE THE BASIN event, an event originated by kids, involving kids, to benefit people all over the world. The Bike the Basin event is the brainchild of three Ivyland siblings, Michael, Mitchell and Karissa Smedley. Michael (11) and Mitchell (8) are affected by a rare blindness called Leber's Congenital Amaurosis (LCA). LCA is the most severe form of Retinitis Pigmentosa. The gene responsible for their blindness is CRB1. CRB1 is the second highest incidence of LCA, but research has been slow to focus on it.

The Smedley family and others have worked to change that focus. They started a Fund, the CRB1 Fund: Curing Retinal Blindness, with other families affected by the same blindness gene. The CRB1 Fund supports research projects that will find a cure for degenerative retinal diseases, specifically focusing right now on the CRB1 form of LCA.While Michael and Mitchell are incredibly active members of their community, they both wish to have the necessary vision to fulfill their dreams, dreams like pitching for a baseball team, being a soccer goalie, and driving a car someday.

Since research is now advancing so quickly, the Smedley's believe that if the current projects can continue being funded, Michael and Mitchell will be involved in a gene replacement therapy in as little as 5 years, and will indeed achieve their dreams!! This event is designed to bring families together around the great sport of bicycling to raise funds and HAVE FUN! All the details are on the Bike the Basin website.

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