Two-year-old Wyatt Catalano, better known as Wyatt the Warrior, is already a celebrity in his hometown and on social media.
Shannon and Steve Catalano knew immediately that something was wrong when their youngest child was born.
“He was covered in lesions, fluid-filled blisters. He had them on his face, his stomach, and his legs,” Shannon said.
Several days after his birth, and after a battalion of tests conducted by Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford, the couple was told their son suffered from diffuse cutaneous mastocytosis, which produces an increase in the mast cells in the skin, resulting in severe allergic blisters, redness, itching and at times leading to anaphylaxis.
Last Nov. 1, the day after Wyatt’s first birthday, the Catalanos organized a 5K called Wyatt’s Walk, in an effort to raise awareness, as well as much-needed funding for the disease that plagued their son.
“Wyatt’s going to grow up here, and he looks different, and it’s great to have people know, and understand, what he has,” Shannon said.
Last year’s event was so successful, the family is ramping up for Wyatt’s Walk 2016, scheduled for Sunday, Nov. 6 at 9 a.m., at Gilroy Sports Park.
The event will offer a variety of family fun, including, music, a 50/50 raffle, face painting, a jump house, live superhero characters from Heroes 4 Hope, and San Jose’s favorite mascot, Sharkie. The Gilroy High School cheerleaders and Morgan Hill Clovers will also be on hand lending their spirit and support.
The goal of this year’s walk, is the bring Wyatt’s war chest to $60,000 dollars, the amount needed to fund an independent pediatric mast cell research grant. The current balance is $34,000.
The research grant will be conducted through The Mastocytosis Society (TMS), an organization Shannon discovered last year in her search for information about Wyatt’s rare disease.
TMS has also been a major asset for Shannon in helping organize last year’s and this year’s, walks. Her biggest ally is TMS Chair of the Board of Directors, Valerie Slee, an expert in the field of mastocytosis with 40 years of experience as a pediatric nurse. Slee herself is a victim of mast cell disease.
Mastocytosis, according to Slee, is often misdiagnosed, making it impossible to know the correct number of reported cases in the United States.
“It’s a rare disorder, it’s under-recognized, and underdiagnosed,” Slee said.
Slee is a proponent for additional research of the disease and feels Shannon has made great strides in spreading awareness in her community.
When Wyatt was born, the Catalanos knew no other parents dealing with a child whose situation was quite like their son’s. Today, through social media, Shannon has had the opportunity to connect with other families dealing with mastocytosis.
“I feel like Instagram, and things like Facebook, really have made it easy to connect with people in other areas and states,” Shannon said.
Social media has not only raised awareness for the disease, but also has made Wyatt a star.
Last year, friends of Shannon, Ida Wong and Gretchen Denham, organized an online auction, offering handcrafted items donated by online boutiques.
Thanks to Wyatt the Warrior’s substantial social media presence, which includes his own website, where t-shirts featuring the Warrior garbed in a superhero cape and mask are available for purchase, the online auction was a huge success, raising over $9,000 for pediatric research.
“The online boutique community of owners and designers rallied for Wyatt,” Wong said, adding, “We are planning to hold another fundraiser this year, in late October, to support Wyatt’s Walk, and ultimately bring awareness and funding to research.”
Shannon and her family are amazed at all the support their son has received.
“It’s like they’ve fallen in love with Wyatt, and they want to do something to make a difference,” Shannon said.
Slee says she has every confidence that the Catalanos will succeed in reaching this year’s goal, providing Wyatt, as well as all children afflicted with mastocytosis, the chance to discover a cure for this rare disease.
“I hope that we can really secure a wonderful pediatric grant, as a result of all of [Shannon’s] efforts, and I’m sure we will.”
To register for Wyatt’s Walk 2016, go to:https://wyattswalk2016.eventbrite.com.
