KSHB 41 News anchor Taylor Hemness reports on stories across Kansas, including a focus on consumer issues. You can contact Taylor by email.
Last year, I introduced you to the Blattner family from Overland Park.
They'd written a book about their late son Dax, who was born with an incredibly rare disease called Pontocerebellar Hypoplasia, Type 8.
They took him on an RV-road trip across the country, to give him the fullest life they could in the time they had with him.
Now, one year later, the family wants to help other families in the same position, and they've launched The Dax Blattner Foundation.
I met with them this week at Meadowbrook Park in Prairie Village, because walking there was one of Dax's favorite things.
They told me that their hope is to make life just a little bit easier for families who are walking the same road that they have, and living an extremely specific life.
We talked about how they'd approached the short lifespan they were told they'd have with Dax, and how that influences this new venture.
"Yes, we're starting small," Danielle Blattner told me. "But I think that it's going to make waves in the community. Until you go through it, you don't really understand the perspective or understand the urgency."
The Blattners told me that, after Dax died, there wasn't really even a question about what they would do.
"I just feel like, just what we've experienced, it's just necessary at this point to be a helping hand to somebody else," Danielle told me.
The family's blog, sharing Dax's story, has been viewed in more than forty countries.
The foundation is volunteer-run, and will serve families in Kansas and Missouri. Donations will pay for care packages, meals at homes, and eventually, special equipment that families may need to make their children comfortable.
You can donate here.
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