Valadao introduces resolution raising awareness of rare brain disease

Oct. 30—It's a rare brain disease that strikes about 500 people in the United States annually, and it's always fatal, causing death just months to a year after it's found to be the reason for a person's rapidly declining cognitive health.

For former Bakersfield Mayor Harvey L. Hall, Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease took its toll just two weeks and a few hours after he was diagnosed in 2018. Residents of Bakersfield were shocked at the sudden death of the city's longest-serving mayor, from 2001 to 2016, who was also president and founder of Hall Ambulance Service Inc. Hall was 77.

Now Rep. David Valadao has introduced a bipartisan resolution to designate Nov. 12, 2023 as CJD Awareness Day.

"Harvey Hall was a compassionate man with a great love for life, his family, his community and his country," Valadao said as he introduced the resolution last week.

Valadao described Hall as a "beloved member of our community and a dear friend of mine," noting he sought to both honor Hall and raise awareness for patients suffering from the rare brain disorder and their families.

Hall's widow, Lavonne C. Hall, described the devastation of the diagnosis in a statement provided by Valadao's office.

"The impact of learning that a loved one has been diagnosed with Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease is unimaginable," she said. "Everywhere you turn for answers and guidance you hear, 'We just don't know' or 'This is just so rare.'

"The isolation and confusion are devastating. My husband Harvey's first symptoms became apparent during a work meeting. After two hospital stays and many tests, a radiologist who had never seen CJD before saw something on the MRI he wanted to investigate further, which ultimately led to the CJD diagnosis."

Debbie Yobs, president of the Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease Foundation, said most people diagnosed with CJD have never heard of it, "but they quickly learn how rapid and destructive this neurodegenerative disease is and how many devastating symptoms it inflicts."

Valadao's resolution states that CJD patients may exhibit failing memory, behavioral changes, impaired coordination and visual disturbances. Mental deterioration becomes more pronounced while involuntary movements, blindness, weakness of extremities and ultimately a coma may result.

Valadao was joined in the introduction of the resolution by Reps. Kevin McCarthy, R-Bakersfield; Jim Costa, D-Fresno; Shontel Brown, D-Ohio; Elissa Slotkin, D-Michigan; and Dave Joyce, R-Ohio.