Taylah Hollingshed, 6, was in dance rehearsal when her mother noticed something wrong: “The left side of her body wasn’t doing what it should.” Their pediatrician referred Taylah to a neurologist who diagnosed her with Leigh syndrome, a severe, progressive disease with no effective treatments. Her mother writes that since then “we have watched our active little girl who loved to dance and ride her bike with her big brother become wheelchair bound.”

Mrs. Calvin’s bladder wouldn’t stop burning. Every few minutes she felt a strong urge to urinate that she could never fully relieve. When she finally received a diagnosis of interstitial cystitis, she hoped an effective treatment would soon follow. But after years of visiting several specialists and trying many medications and procedures, nothing worked. Her once expansive existence, filled with dreams and plans, now centered on her bladder.