Rent-to-own News - ColorTyme's Coelho raises money, awareness for Boston Children's Hospital

Nathaniel Giannandrea

For a third year in a row, Providence ColorTyme franchisee Al Coelho is partnering with a patient at Children’s Hospital Boston to raise money and awareness for the hospital.
 
Going the extra mile on April 16, Coelho will dedicate his 26-mile run of the Boston Marathon to the family of Nathaniel Giannandrea, a patient of Children’s Hospital Boston since the age of nine days old.

“There are many mutations of CF, so there are many people like Nathaniel who will suffer and require constant care for many years,” said Coelho. “Please support us in helping Children’s Hospital Boston in treating Nathaniel and the thousands of children they treat each year that have chronic illnesses.”

Coelho is hoping to raise $20,000 this year for the hospital.

Nathaniel’s mom, Lia, learned that her son had cystic fibrosis when he was seven days old. Now two and a half years old, Nathaniel is no stranger to Children’s Hospital Boston, as it has played an enormous role in his care, says Lia.
 
“Children’s has always been fantastic to us,” said Giannandrea. “We live more than two hours away and they always schedule all his doctor appointments on the same day, back to back, so we don’t have to make so many trips. They are wonderful, and we want to do whatever we can to help and give back to them.”
 
CF is a recessive genetic disease affecting the lungs most critically, as well as the pancreas, liver, and intestine. It is characterized by abnormal transport of chloride and sodium across epithelium, which leads to thick, viscous secretions. There are approximately 1000 new cases diagnosed in the United States each year.

Technically a rare disease, cystic fibrosis is ranked as one of the most widespread life-shortening genetic diseases. In 1959, the median age of survival of children with cystic fibrosis in the U.S. was six months; now, with constant care and treatment it is 37.4 years. The Vertex company is working on a cure, however it is not a cure for the CF mutation that Nathaniel carries, Coelho said.
 
To support his cause and donate to Children’s Hospital Boston, please visit http://howtohelp.childrenshospital.org/bostonmarathon/page/Albert-Coelho.htm.