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TBS STORYLINE Tells Heart-Breaking Story of Family

Dealing With

Little Understood Mitochondrial Disease Saturday,

April 15

Thursday April 6, 3:09 pm ET

Weekly In-Depth Look at Georgian Issues, Events and

Fascinating

Stories Airs Locally in Atlanta Saturdays at 9 a.m. on

TBS

ATLANTA, April 6 /PRNewswire/ -- TBS STORYLINE, a

weekly magazine

series produced by TBS's Emmy®-winning Public Affairs

department,

will take an in- depth look at a family dealing with

mitochondrial

disease, a little understood condition in which the

cell

mitochondria fail to provide enough energy for the

body to sustain

life and support growth. The story will air during TBS

STORYLINE's

Saturday, April 15, 9 a.m. episode. TBS STORYLINE is a

new weekly

magazine series examining Georgia-related issues,

events and

personal stories. The hour-long series, hosted by

TBS's own Myrna

, airs on TBS-17, TBS's local Atlanta broadcast

platform.

TBS STORYLINE's examination of mitochondrial disease,

which has

sadly become more common in children than cancer,

focuses on Sheri

and Darin Seldes and their remarkable young son Ty,

who was born

with the disorder. Ty is 3 1/2 years old and is not

able to sit up,

speak or eat table food. He will never be able to

walk, talk or play

with his older brother. Ty has a mitochondrial disease

called

Leigh's Disease, which is one of the most severe of

all

mitochondrial diseases. It is a degeneration of the

central nervous

system due to defects in the mitochondria. Patches of

brain damage

continue to occur as nerve cells die. The prognosis of

Leigh's

Disease is very poor, and there is no treatment.

Occasionally,

patients may live to be 6 or 7 years old.

The long tedious process of arriving at a diagnosis

made Ty's family

painfully aware of the lack of knowledge of

mitochondrial disease

within the medical community. Like so many other

children, Ty was

referred to a long succession of doctors, each of whom

ran an

abundance of tests, but unfortunately they had no

answers. It was

not until 14 months later, when Ty was seen by a

mitochondrial

disease specialist, Dr. Shoffner, that his family

finally

received an answer. Their worst fear had become

reality.

Since Ty is so young, he is not aware of what is

happening to him.

His days are filled with watching cartoons, drinking

milk and

playing with the mountains of toys he shares with his

brother. His

evenings are filled with agitation and screaming. The

toll this

disease takes on his little body is nothing short of

horrifying. Ty

has lost the ability to move his legs, and he is

losing the ability

to control his hands. Through it all, however, he

still has the

ability to fill people's hearts with happiness every

time he laughs

and smiles.

Because there is currently no government funding for

research into

mitochondrial disease, Ty's parents are staunch

advocates on his

behalf and on behalf of all people who suffer from the

condition.

They have established a walk called Ty's Trot Toward a

Cure, which

will be held in Atlanta's Piedmont Park in September.

More

information about the walk can be found at

www.tystrot.com. In

addition, Georgia Baptist Children's Home will hold a

Race for Riley

5K walk/run on Saturday, April 29. Information about

Race for Riley

can be found at www.raceforriley.org.

Additional information about mitochondrial disease and

other ways

people can support research for a cure can be found at

the United

Mitochondrial Disease Foundation Web site at

www.umdf.org.

Other stories appearing in this episode of TBS

STORYLINE include an

interview with theater icon Kenny Leon, former

artistic director of

Atlanta's Alliance Theatre; a humorous look at

Groundhog Day; and a

stellar performance from breakout jazz performers Days

Ahead.

A venue for dynamic, in-depth stories, TBS STORYLINE

builds on TBS's

long- standing commitment to addressing issues

important to

Georgians. The series' thoughtful approach to

storytelling, candid

interviews and inspiring musical performances are

packaged with the

same kind of high-quality production values that have

earned TBS

Public Affairs more than 40 Regional Emmys.

In addition to its on-air presence, TBS STORYLINE has

a prominent

place on the Internet, with the show's Web site

(http://www.tbsstoryline.com) providing in-depth

background on the

stories presented, highlights of upcoming programs and

exclusive

video of musical performances.

TBS-17 is the local Atlanta broadcast platform for

TBS. In addition

to TBS's line-up of hot contemporary comedies,

high-profile original

series, blockbuster movies, hosted movie showcases and

action-packed

sports, TBS-17 also presents programming of interest

to Atlanta

viewers, produced by the Emmy-winning TBS Public

Affairs team. TBS's

Web site is located at http://www.tbsstoryline.com.

Mom to the two best kids in the world!

http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/thomasandkatie

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