Help celebrate Emery's 2nd Birthday by funding our THIRD dedicated research project at CHOC (Children's Hospital of Orange County) 🎉

Update 5/10/26: Baby Emery will turn two years old at the end of May. This milestone looked impossible 18 months ago, and is very direct result of research that was funded by this page. We are forever grateful to those who have contributed so far. And the momentum is still getting going!

• Phase I: First $50k successfully supported an FBXL4-disease specific fibroblast cell study to test a new medication. The highly encouraging results of that study have been presented at multiple mitochondrial disease conferences worldwide. Emery is already taking this drug and it has likely changed the trajectory of her life.
• Phase II: The next $12.5k successfully purchased a piece of essential equipment which will enable researchers at CHOC to extend their promising FBXL4-disease specific findings to broader models of the disease, accelerating the translation of this new treatment to children worldwide.
• Phase III: This current $20k goal funds a fibroblast study of an alternative medication which is already FDA approved for other conditions and is recently published to affect the FBXL4 pathway. If this project is funded, Emery (and friends) could start taking this drug in months, not years.

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Meet Baby Emery

Kevin and Courtney Tamaro-Kline are fighting for their 1-year old daughter's life. Emery has been diagnosed with a rare mitochondrial disease involving a genetic mutation on the FBXL4 gene. She is in desperate need for a cure, or at minimum, a treatment that doesn't deprive her body of key nutrition to grow and develop.
FBXL4 Diagnosis Explained

We must put our faith into research. Help us support research at the Children's Hospital of Orange County (CHOC) by making a contribution to Emery's fundraiser and sharing this page with your family and friends. This page is in Emery's name, but every dollar directly funds FBXL4-specific projects within CHOC's Metabolic Research Lab.
(Tax deduction and non-cash donation details at bottom)

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Mitochondrial diseases come in thousands of forms, but are collectively about as prevalent as childhood cancer. Only in recent years have we had genetic testing technology to specifically diagnose children like Emery. Very little is known in how to effectively treat mitochondrial diseases as they affect every cell in the body.

Treatment is complicated by the spectrum of mitochondrial diseases and that even the same diagnosis presents differently in different children. Across the board, we do not have a cure for mitochondrial diseases and are in infancy of developing treatments to manage symptoms. Significant research is yet to come.

Some prayers for Emery have already been answered. Of all the places we could live at this time, CHOC's Metabolic Research Lab is not only has one of the few in the country, but this lab has multiple active studies involving Emery's specific FBXL4 diagnosis. Emery's donated cells are heavily utilized and the research team is iterating potential treatments.

Emery's specific diagnosis is very rare - with about 250 cases diagnosed world-wide since discovered 13 years ago. The children have significantly varying abilities and life duration. While there is no clinical data to provide estimate of Emery's future, we know that her future is purposeful and uniquely hers. Together, we can make a difference!

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All donations are tax-deductible directly via the CHOC foundation. Receipts will be mailed/emailed accordingly. If you wish to donate equity (stocks, funds, etc.) or mail a check, please contact scarter@choc.org and these contributions will be reflected in Emery's fundraiser.