Inspiring Hope A LITTLE BOY’S LEGACY. A BIG DOSE OF HOPE.
W
hen Caroline and Trey Winslett welcomed their first-born child, Ward, they fell hard. “He had such a personality, and he was so easy to love,” said Caroline. “You couldn’t help but love him when you looked into those deep blue eyes,” added Trey. He was perfect in every sense, except for one small genetic defect. Ward was seven months old when he was diagnosed with Gaucher’s Disease (pronounced go-SHAY), an incurable rare disease that occurs in one in 100,000 individuals and has varying levels of severity. Ward had the rare type that begins in infancy and is usually fatal by age two. “And so began our diagnostic odyssey,” said Caroline Winslett, who explained that she and Trey spent hours each day learning as much as possible about Ward’s disease, with support from Atrium Health Levine Children’s. “It was an incredibly traumatic experience, and we learned some vital lessons. First and foremost: Love is important to a child with a rare disease, and it provides a comfort to both the child and his or her loved ones. And second: When a rare disease strikes, it takes a village.” The Winsletts lost their beloved Ward in October 2020, just six days shy of his 13-month
birthday. They turned their heartbreak into determination, driven by their wish to inspire hope in other families facing a similar diagnosis. In January 2021, they founded WARD’S Foundation (Working to Advance Rare
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MOMENTUM
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SPRING 2022
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A T R I U M H E A LT H F O U N D A T I O N
