Whole Video From the Fight for Mike Event
by Kara Swisher
Posted on June 22, 2007 at 12:30 AM PT
The full video from the Fight for Mike event, held a week ago in Palo Alto, Calif., for Mike Homer, is now up on YouTube and is embedded below.
Friends and colleagues of the well-known tech veteran came together to learn about his severe illness–he was recently diagnosed with Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.
The hour-long event included speeches by close Homer friends and tech luminaries, Bill Campbell and Ron Conway, information about CJD from doctors at the University of California at San Francisco, where Homer is being treated, and questions from the audience of hundreds.
A rare, neurodegenerative prion disease, which in Homer’s case has occurred sporadically rather than via infection (the well-known variant that occurs in animals is called mad cow disease), CJD’s incidence is one case in a million annually. Few survive beyond a year after exhibiting symptoms, and there is no known cure for CJD.
The hospital at UCSF is the only place in this country that has a major laboratory doing both research and clinical trials. And Homer, his family and friends are making a big push to accelerate the pace of discovery for treatments and a cure, by raising money for the cause and pushing for even more aggressive development.
For those who want to help, there are several ways, including via donation to the Homer Family Foundation’s Program for Brain Disease Research (P.O. Box 10195, Palo Alto, Calif. 94303); the Homer Family Fund for Brain Research at the Harris myCFO Foundation (P.O. Box 10196, Palo Alto, Calif. 94303); or the UCSF Foundation, specifically to the “Fight for Mike Fund” or generally for neurodegenerative disease research and treatment.
Here is the long video, which–even at almost 60 minutes–is well worth it:
