A Field Day For a Local Family

Saturday, families with children in grades kindergarten through sixth grade can come out to Park for a fun day of sports, games and goodwill. The field day is planned to take place from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. to benefit Grady's All-Stars.

Grady's All-Stars is a trust fund that was established to aid in medical, equipment and therapy expenses for the care of Drew and Trent Grady of Upper St. Clair.

Drew, 7, and Trent, 4, are brothers who both suffer from a rare genetic and fatal disease called Late Infantile Batten disease.

Their parents, Chris and Valerie, had no idea there was anything medically wrong with their son until shortly after Drew's third birthday when he suffered his first seizure. For nearly two years Drew was misdiagnosed as having epilepsy. After much persistence from his parents, Drew was finally diagnosed with Batten Disease in February of 2009.

A few weeks after their older son's diagnosis, the pair made the decision to have Trent, their younger child, tested as well. The news was devastating.

According to the Battens Disease Support and Research Association, some of the symptoms children with the diseases may face are loss of vision, sometimes resulting in blindness, seizures, loss of cognitive function, loss of communication skills and a general progressive decline and deterioration.

The Field Day will have an obstacle course, basketball, hockey, face painting, carnival games and other fun activities for the children. There will also be a bake sale, along with pizza, bagels and other food items available for purchase. There will also be a Chinese Auction.

Kasey Fielder, a senior at , coordinated the fundraiser after hearing about the family from her father. She said she knew she wanted to do a senior project that would benefit others and this family is more than deserving.

“At first I was going to do something for St. Jude's or another larger organization. But when I heard about this family I wanted to do it for them. It is nice to know the money is going to somebody local who can really use it,” said Fielder.