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Sherri and Brian Manning's son Dylan was born a healthy, happy bouncing baby boy. Each day was filled with wonder, excitement and new accomplishments. That is, until Dylan (DJ) started to regress, his parents thought it was normal...not so much. After learning to sit up, crawl and begin walking, DJ stopped doing all of these activities. After numerous doctor appointments and several misdiagnosis, DJ was finally diagnosed with having Tay-Sachs Disease. Sherri and Brian were not even familiar with this Disease at the time of diagnosis and had never been consulted by their OB about the risks. Typically, this Disease is thought to affect parents of jewish decent (both having to be carriers). Well, in Sherri and Brian's case they were Irish and French Canadian (also carriers). As the years progressed, DJ's health continued to deteriorate....but not the spirit of Sherri and Brian. They worked tirelessly taking care of his every need, making sure that DJ had the experiences of other little boys his age, going to baseball games, concerts, water parks, train rides, the beach etc. They began DJ's Foundation, a non-profit charity to raise funds and awareness about Tay-Sachs Disease. Sadly, DJ passed away on August 2nd, 2006. Since that day, Sherri and Brian have continued to fight their fight and have since joined efforts with the National Tay-Sachs Foundation and have continued to raise funds for a cure. Through all of this, Sherri and Brian have given birth to two healthy sons (thanks to medical intervention and prevention) and live each and everyday as the type of people I strive to be. They are generous, kind, good spirited, genuine and most of all dedicated to preventing any other child/adult from be afflicted with Tay-Sachs Disease. I believe that Sherri deserves this honor as she is an inspiration to all that meet her!