Legacy Files

April 4, 2011 [Updated January 3, 2012; Last update: June 2012. Please scroll down for updates.]

Treasure is a loving young girl with a vascular malformation of the tongue.  Flare-ups can cause her to have trouble eating, closing her mouth, talking, and could potentially block her airway.  Treasure was diagnosed at the age of 5.  She’s had many very costly surgeries. Treasure is doing well today, thanks to the love and support of compassionate people, such as a local dance community who helped raise funds when they heard Treasure needed yet another surgery last year.

Read Treasure’s timeline.
 

What is a vascular malformation?*

Vascular malformations are benign (non-cancerous) lesions that are present at birth, but which may not be visible for weeks or months after birth. Unlike hemangiomas, vascular malformations do not have a growth cycle and then regress - they continue to grow slowly throughout life. There are several types of vascular malformations:

• Capillary (port wine stains) - always present at birth as pink or purple skin patches
• Venous - often confused with a hemangioma, these malformations are soft to the touch and the color disappears when compressed. They are most commonly found on the jaw, cheek, tongue and lips
• Lymphatic - formed when excess fluid accumulates within the lymphatic vessels
• Arteriovenous - abnormal connections between arteries and veins, resulting in a high flow, pulsating collections of blood vessels
• Mixed - a combination of any of the other four types.

If a vascular malformation is very large or affects the breathing system (airway or lungs) or another large organ system, it could be life-threatening.
*source: http://www.childrenshospital.org/az/Site1026/mainpageS1026P0.html 

Learn more about vascular malformations.

Randy Jackson and Treasure's doctor at the hospital with Treasure the day of her last surgery.
 

The Starfish Story - Making a Difference

Friends of Treasure identifies with the starfish.  There's an old story that has circulated the Web over the years, in many variations. The following is borrowed from the Friends of Treasure website:

The old man awoke just before sunrise, as he often did, to walk by the ocean's edge and greet the new day. As he moved through the morning dawn, he focused on a faint, far away motion.

He saw a youth, bending and reaching and flailing arms, dancing on the beach, no doubt in celebration of the perfect day soon to begin. As he approached, he realized that the youth was not dancing to the bay, but rather bending to sift through the debris left by the night's tide, stopping now and then to pick up starfish and then standing, to heave it back into the sea.

As the youth explained, the old man surveyed the vast expanse of beach, stretching in both directions beyond eyesight. Starfish littered the shore in numbers beyond calculation. The hopelessness of the youth's plan became clear and the old man countered, "But there are more starfish on this beach than you can ever save before the sun is up. Surely you cannot expect to make a difference.”

The youth paused briefly to consider the old man's words, bent to pick up a starfish and threw it as far as possible. Turning to the old man, he said,

"I made a difference to that one!”

The starfish story is said to be paraphrased from "The Star Thrower" by Loren Eiseley, 1907 - 1977.

Mike Reid & Treasure.

Treasure and her family have been through a lot, financially, emotionally, and for Treasure, physically, during their 7-year battle.  Thankful for the help, love and kindness Treasure has received and wanting to pay it forward, Treasure and her mom, Chelsa, are making a difference in the lives of others who suffer from vascular malformations, which occur in less than 1% of the population. Through their Friends of Treasure charity, a non-profit 501(3)(c) federally-recognized (USA) charitable organization, founded by Treasure's mom in 2010, they seek to help raise much-needed funds for individuals afflicted with these rare lesions. Treasure is very active in the charity.

Meet Michael and Maddy, two beneficiaries of Friends of Treasure. 

The Michael Jackson Tribute Portrait proudly supports Treasure’s and her mom’s mission through Friends of Treasure, and we’d like to encourage you to join us. 

To donate directly to Friends of Treasure to help Michael, Maddy and others with vascular malformation get the life-saving medical attention they desperately need, go to
http://www.friendsoftreasure.com/store.html.  I have made my donation “in loving memory of, in honor of, and on behalf of, Michael Jackson,” as a way to carry on his humanitarian legacy.  

When you donate to Friends of Treasure, please come back here and leave a comment below (remember to log in!) to let us know. As a small way of thanking you and recognizing you for helping to save a life through Friends of Treasure, we will assign a Michael’s Angels – Friends of Treasure badge [Please see June 2010 update below.].  Your kindness and generosity may inspire others to do the same.  Every donation counts; we may not be able to help everyone suffering from this or any other affliction, but we can help one at a time (just like those starfish!), and your help will change that person’s life – and that could have a ripple effect greater than we can ever imagine.

With love,
Valerie
Director of Philanthropy

“Let your soul plant its love like a seed into the hearts of all beings in this world. Then breathe love and life into that seed every day, and watch it grow.” ~Me (Valerie :) ©2007 

Main source for material obtained for this article: http://www.friendsoftreasure.com

Special thanks to Amber at We Love 3T (http://welove3t.weebly.com) for helping to make this possible!

Click here to find out more about our Michael's Angels initiative.

On April 27, 2011, The Michael Jackson Tribute Portrait Artist, David Ilan, honored Treasure with a Dot in Michael's heart. Click here to read the story and view photos.

UPDATED January 3, 2012:  We'd like to share this happy update from Treasure's mom:

"We are happy to report that we have given more than $21,000 to approved applicants to help with medical bills, healthcare and more.... We look forward to the New Year and all it will bring. We will be updating the website and move forward with the now named Miss Amazing/Mr. Wonderful Pageant as well as a Mary Kay and Tupperware Fundraiser so that we can continue to help and make a difference. 

"I am honored to tell that Treasure our Starfish, the one that started all of this is doing wonderful. She is now 13 and has no signs of relapse. She is living and enjoying life for the first time since she was diagnosed at the age of 5.

"Thank you for all of your love, prayers and support!"

***UPDATE: June 2012 – Our current Michael’s Angels badges, the first of which has been active for more than 2 and a half years, will be retired at the end of this month (badges assigned to members will remain on their profiles). While the badges are being retired, the efforts to carry on Michael Jackson’s humanitarian legacy will not! We encourage you to continue to support the charities, programs and initiatives we’ve highlighted so far in our Michael’s Angels program. We encourage you to keep volunteering and supporting charities that speak to your heart. Keep helping others; keep protecting the planet; keep doing what you do to make the world a better place and being an example to others, encouraging them to help heal the world.

©2011  

Comments for this post are now closed. Thank you to everyone who paticipated. We encourage you to continue your support of  Friends of Treasure. You make a difference!