 I originally got a diagnosis of Proteus Syndrome back in 1999 and connected with Dr. Beesecker about three weeks later, made my first trip here, and coming here quite regular ever since. Living with Proteus Syndrome can be a challenge, depends on how severe your case is. Some patients are wheelchair-bombed, some can get around fairly well. I kind of fall in the mid-range as far as that goes. I'm able to hold on a job daily. Symptoms of Proteus Syndrome are asymmetric growth of bones, which means certain bones will grow longer on one side than the other, inconsistent. In my case, for instance, I had an 8-inch differential in my leg length by age 14, so that's a big part of it. Also, vascular malformations in a lot of areas. What Proteus Syndrome is is an extraordinarily rare disorder. It's probably present in maybe only one in a million to one in 10 million people. What it is is a disorder that causes parts of the body to grow more than they should or sometimes maybe even completely out of control. The genetics of this disease are interesting in that it is a genetic disorder and it's caused by a mutation or an alteration in the gene, but it's never inherited. That is, everybody that has this condition acquired it themselves as an individual, probably when they were in early embryo, did not inherit it from their mom or their dad. We're actually making history this month with Proteus Syndrome because Jerry is the first patient in history to be receiving a treatment that is specifically targeted at correcting the underlying abnormality in Proteus Syndrome to try and stop that overgrowth that the patients have and we're hoping in some patients even to reverse that overgrowth and try and cure and treat patients with this disease. The treatment is a 10 milligram dose of a drug that, my understanding, was designed to treat cancer, some cancers that are in the same genetic pathway as the Proteus Syndrome is. What this pill treatment actually does is try and dial back or turn down the level of activation of this one gene that is overactive in patients with Proteus Syndrome. The reason I participate in this trial and in the research is because Proteus Syndrome has cost me too much to let it go wasted and through this research and through this trial we can hopefully get the payoff, especially for those children that are coming behind. The time course of treatment is going to be essential and most patients, the overgrowth starts between the age of about 6 and 18 months of age. That's when the parent usually first notices when it starts to take off. I don't know how old it was for you about that. Dr. Beeseker has been tremendous also through all those years and his whole staff. It's obvious that a parent that he cares truly for his patients as individuals and not just as research. And I would say our admiration is mutual and we have a real partnership both with the patients who have agreed to come here and work with us to try and understand this disorder and the foundations who have been consistent and loyal supporters of our program and the patients for decades. It's a total partnership and we both allow and enable each other to accomplish what we're trying to accomplish.