Nieves and Valerie Gomez’s SMA story started in 2013, when their son Liam Taylor Gomez was born with SMA Type 1. Liam passed away at six months of age, and at that time Nieves made a commitment to dedicate the rest of his life to healthcare and helping others. Since then, he has worked in many different healthcare positions to become the Chief Executive Officer at Columbia Basin Health Association (CBHA), a Community Health Center in Eastern, WA that provides services to rural, underserved communities.
Since his appointment in early 2018, he has rallied their community to join CBHA’s Run for a Cause event to raise awareness for child wellness, with proceeds being distributed in the communities they serve. They started the event as a memorial to Liam and to connect with the community, with a focus on helping families of kids with special needs referred to by their Early Intervention Services program. This year was the fifth anniversary of the event, and they continued to raise funding for family support and child wellness, community support (local parks and recreation departments), and Cure SMA.
“It is hard to explain. We feel the loss, pain, and hopelessness we felt when we could not save our baby. Then we feel the hope that one day organizations like Cure SMA will help find a breakthrough and a cure for SMA.” – Nieves and Valerie Gomez
Nieves and Valerie first learned about Cure SMA when they received a newly diagnosed care package. This pleasant surprise filled them with gratitude and helped inspire their commitment to families in their local community who faced the challenges of caring for children with special needs. Under Nieves’ leadership, CBHA has partnered with local government to support children’s park and recreation departments and recently worked with a genetic testing company to offer genetic testing for our patients and families to screen for SMA and other genetic diseases.