A small piece of the wall

Edmund Burke said; " No one could make a greater mistake than he did nothing because he could only do a little."

Burke might have been talking about a Jew from ancient times named Nehemiah.

Before Christ was born the Jews were conquered and their city wall of Jerusalam was left in ruins.The Jews left in Isreal were left vulnerable to their enemies. If the Jews were ever to return they would need a city with a wall.

 An ordinary man Nehemiah was the cupbearer to the King of Persia where the Jews had been taken.  This ordinary man had a vision to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the walls and protect his people.  He had a vision and the courage to approach the King to make it happen.   He asked for safe passage, permission to rebuild the walls and materials to do it.

When he arrived in Jerusalem he assigned each family a small portion of the wall to rebuild. After laying in ruins for 95 years the walls were re-built in 52 days.  The build wasn't easy, they faced ridicule and oppostion from their enemies. But they got it done and fullfilled this leaders vision.  The Jews were able to return from exile and defend Jerusalem.

There is no telling what we can do if we have a vision and each do our small part to make it happen.

Raising CMT awareness is my vision and my small part of the wall. Having athletes wear our Team CMT jersey may seem like a small effort.  Even our little effort may have influence  beyond our knowledge.
Like those families in Jerusalem Team CMT will work on our small part of the wall.  Our hope is a world without CMT. First awareness then fund raising then treatment and a cure.  I can do only a little, but proud to be even a small part.



Chris Wodke
Founder & Manager Team CMT
www.run4cmt.com

Team CMT is a group of athletes and supporters working to raise awareness and to find a cure for CMT. We have almost 100 members in 17 states. If you wish to join us visit our web site.

CMT or Charcot-Marie-Tooth is the most commonly inherited peripheral neuropathy. It affects over 155,000 Americans (as many as MS).  It is a disease of the nerves that control the muscles. It is slowly progressive, causing loss of normal function and or sensation in the lower legs/feet and arms/hands.

Symptoms include; muscle wasting in the lower legs and feet leading to foot drop, poor balance and gait problems Atrophy in the hands causes difficulty with manual dexterity.

Structural foot deformities such as high arches and hammer toes are common.

Poor tolerance for cool or cold temperatures and many people have chronically cold hands and feet.

Additional symptoms may include fatigue, sleep apnea, breathing difficulties and hearing loss.