Our Story

Smooth jazz giants Stanley Baird and Bob Baldwin are using their celebrity to draw attention to a rare autoimmune disease that recently claimed the life of Daniele Cooley, a 30-year-old Fayetteville mother of two young children.

“I learned about Daniele and her condition through a friend,” says Grammy-nominated keyboardist Baldwin, who wrote a song for Cooley, titled Every Breath is a Gift. “One thing led to another, and I felt it was important to do the benefit. I also felt it was important to raise awareness, so that people know what she went through. I’d like for the condition that Daniele had to get exposure.”

Last year, Baldwin was joined by saxophonist Mike Phillips in Atlanta for a benefit concert to help raise awareness and funding for Daniele to fight her disease. Unfortunately, on Jan. 13, 2012 Daniele lost her battle with mixed connective tissue disorder, the autoimmune disease that robbed her of three-quarters of her lungs’ breathing capacity.

On Sunday, March 11, Baldwin and nationally renowned saxophonist Stanley Baird and his band will co-host a concert in her honor at The Prime Smokehouse, 2800 Rock Quarry Rd., in Raleigh. Proceeds will go toward a scholarship fund for Daniele’s children, Aniyah, 4, and 7-year-old Darrion Elijah. Tickets, $20, are available at www.helpdaniele.eventbrite.com

The Impact

The perplexing thing about mixed connective tissue disease (MCTD) is that nobody knows what causes it, and there are no unique signs or symptoms. What doctors do know is that the disorder usually attacks women in their 20s and 30s, and occasionally children. MCTD often masquerades as other maladies, portraying symptoms of lupus, scleroderma, polymyositis and rheumatoid arthritis. It is an autoimmune disease, which means that the body’s defense system targets healthy cells rather than the bad ones. Gradually, your body becomes weak and, as in the case of Daniele, too weak to recover.

What We Need & What You Get

We have just a few perks.  You see.................just before Christmas, Cooley had a serious scare, adding even more urgency to the effort of Baldwin and others.  She hooked up to a new oxygen tank that was broken at the connection and the life-sustaining gas seeped out as she was driving her daughter to the hospital for a checkup.  She says she barely made it to the front entrance, nearly running into the building as she lay on the horn.  Medics ran out and hooked her up to a new tank.  Daniele was home for Christmas, however, on January 4th 2012 she went into a coma.  As of today, January 13, she was released from life support.  Please share this link with others as we bring awareness to a simple thing called "breath"  Let's not take it for granted and keep Daniele's memory alive as we celebrate her legacy for her children to see years from now.

Other Ways You Can Help

Please share this campaign with others via email, facebook, twitter, etc.  We need your support!! Thank you!!!