On July 27, an article about the King family of Fork ran in the Neighbors section of the Myrtle Beach Sun News. Many readers sent donations to the family. This story, which appeared in Sun News on August 31, 2000, follows up on the Kings and their recent trip to Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland.

Only four hospitals in the United States specialize in Rett Syndrome, the genetic disorder that has silenced Brittany King and confines her to a wheelchair. Though her height is average for a nine-year-old, she weighs just 38 lbs. Brittany's parents have wanted to take their daughter to a research facility devoted to genetic disorders since their daughter was diagnosed in 1997.

But Allen King was disabled in an auto accident three years ago, and his disability checks, which would be adequate for a normal family, barely cover the Kings' monthly medical expenses. Debbie King does not work. In addition to her role as full-time caregiver for Brittany, King also cares for her mother, who has lung cancer. For a long time, the trip seemed an impossibility.

"The doctors on the team are pretty expensive," said King. "One of them charges $1,700 for a consultation."

Rett Syndrome randomly afflicts infant girls between 6 and 18 months; their natural development is stopped and sometimes even reversed. The disorder is estimated to affect more than 200,000 girls and women worldwide, many of whom may be misdiagnosed with cerebral palsy or autism.

A gospel sing to help raise money for the family's trip to Maryland was held at the Fork Baptist Church on July 29. Entertainment was donated by the Lumber River Quartet of Lumberton, NC, and two other local groups.

"The benefit just went great. Any time you can get 126 people to sit still from 6:30 to 10:30, you're doing something right!" said Reverend Eddie Baker.

"I really felt God was there, working on people," said King. "He was working on me!"

Approximately $2,000 was raised on the night of the gospel sing. Since then, other churches have made additional donations, bringing the total to about $4,000.

Donations from Sun News readers totaled about $3.500, reported Baker. "That's a lot, when you figure that most folks sent in $25 or $50." About 15% of the donations came from out of state.

"Whether it was people visiting, or in transit, who took their papers home when they left, I don't know. But donations came from New Jersey, from Iowa, and New York," said Baker.

The Kings left for Baltimore on August 5, driving their van, trying to keep Brittany comfortable on the long journey. On August 7, Brittany was seen at Johns Hopkins' Kennedy Krieger Institute by Dr. SakkuBai Naidu, a specialist in Rett Syndrome. A number of tests were performed, including DNA sequencing, which will help the research team detect the location of Brittany's genetic mutation. However, due to heavy laboratory backlog, the test results won't be available for about four months.

The Kings had hoped to take Brittany to six different physicians at Johns Hopkins, but they ran out of money after just two appointments and several tests. However, donations arriving after their trip will help them take Brittany to the Medical University of South Carolina this week, where she will undergo magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), an electroencephalograph (EEG), and other tests. She has had an increasing number of grand mal seizures recently, and King says that the doctors at Johns Hopkins suspect there may be something wrong with her spine.

"If we have to go back to get into a research study, we'll do that if it will help her," says King.

Recently, Rett Syndrome has received national press coverage. The September 2000 issue of Good Housekeeping features an article on the disorder. A television film about Rett Syndrome, Silent Angels, premiered this past Sunday on the Discovery Health channel and will run periodically through the end of October, according to a Discovery Channel spokesperson. Actress Julia Roberts, who is featured in the program, decided to help raise public awareness of Rett Syndrome when she met a girl afflicted with the disorder.

Living in small communities can make parents with special-needs children feel very isolated. The Kings were delighted to learn that a Conway company, Power Surge Computers, plans to give them a used PC. This will enable the Kings to join the "Rett Net", an Internet community of almost 400 families around the world who help each other with suggestions for therapy, treatment and simple moral support.

"I really look forward to talking with other people whose children have Rett Syndrome. It will make me feel so much better to talk to other parents," said King.

The Brittany King Medical Fund will be left open as additional donations trickle in. Donations should be made payable to Fork Baptist Church and sent to 1372 Old River Rd., Fork, SC 29543; please write "BRITTANY KING" in the memo area of the check.

"I want to thank everybody for their prayers and donations," said King, "and most of all, for caring about Brittany."