Featured Story: Because I Can....Not Let My Syndrome Define Me

A mother shares the journey of her little "Fox" and how she lights up a room!

Annika was born March, 19, 2012 after a normal pregnancy. At her two month routine check-up, her pediatrician noted that her head was falling off of the normal growth curve, diagnosing her with microcephaly. Her doctor ordered an MRI to check for any abnormalities. It was discovered that Annika has Agenesis of the Corpus Collosum. The CC is a band of tissues that connects the right and left brain hemispheres. After her diagnosis, we were sent to genetic testing. The testing came back as positive for FoxG1 syndrome, which means she has a deletion on her 14q12 chromosome.

Annika is our fox. She is fully dependent: uses a wheelchair, has a feeding tube, gets catheterized daily, has epilepsy that she takes four different meds for, and is non-verbal... but lights up just about every room she walks into!

Although Annika is non-verbal, she certainly is great at communicating what she loves. Her two favorite things are running in her special chair and the Minnesota Vikings, specifically Adam Thielen. Annika has participated in many 5K's and even did her first marathon two years ago. When she is pulling her runner through a race, she has the biggest smile! She gets the most cheers along race courses especially, at the finish line! As far as the Vikings go, two and half years ago, Annika was fortunate enough the be granted Make-A-Wish! She met the entire Vikings team and also got to go to a game at US Bank Stadium. It was no doubt the best weekend of her life! She has never reacted to anything the way that she did by making her wish come true. ~ Christy Olson Feist (Mom)

Annika chose International FoxG1 Foundation to benefit from online sales proceeds:
Pioneering innovative research to find a cure to FOXG1 while supporting and inspiring families.