$35,000 raised at the 4th annual Mardi Gras Fete & 10 Year Rett Clinic Celebration

Mar 18

On March 5th, RMRA hosted the 4th Annual Mardi Gras Fete at the Mercury Café in Denver. This event was also the 10-year celebration of the Rett Clinic at Children’s Hospital Colorado. With over 100 participants and even more who joined virtually over zoom, this event was a huge success raising $35,000 to support the Rett Clinic.

The audience was captivated by the two talks from the featured speakers: Dr. Alan Percy from the Children’s Hospital Alabama, who is considered the “the father” of Rett Syndrome research in the US. In addition to starting the first Rett Syndrome clinic in the US, he also assisted RMRA and Dr. Benke with establishing the Rett Clinic at Children’s Hospital 10 years ago. Dr. Percy’s right-hand person, Jane Lane, RN, BSN, who is recognized as an international resource for creating successful, caring, and learned clinic environments gave insights into the past of Rett Syndrome and how far we have come. Jane is currently a research nurse manager at the UAB Department of Pediatrics, Division of Neurology.

At the event, RMRA also presented the 2022 Judy Masters Award to John Schaffner, for steadfastly advocating for all Rett children and families. Watch this video of John’s daughter Vanessa and granddaughter Martilee.

To celebrate the 10 years, we heard from families as well as Rett Clinic Coordinator Tristen Dinkel and Rett Clinic Medical Director Dr. Tim Benke what the clinic meant for them. Watch the video now:

Entertainment was provided by the Rhinettes, a local performance group with a diverse talent pool, from a sparkling drag queen to cabaret singing.The MC of the in-person was Miss. Monroe from the Rhinettes, while Sam Ahlstrom, from pRETTy Happy podcast (and Rett dad to Zoey), was the zoom moderator. A thank you to Justin Allen (Rett dad to Brooke), who lent his video expertise to make this happen. Mercury Café offered delicious New Orleans-style food ending with the typical King Cake. The drawing for a free vacation was won by Connie Grover - congratulations!

Check out some of our pictures. We’ll probably add more as we get them!