Sabrina Gabriella Bertucci was born on July 7, 1982.  She was an energetic, happy child and had a successful academic career.  She went to the Rye Country Day School through high school and graduated Cum Laude with a BA in Art History from the George Washington University.

Sabrina enjoyed life to its fullest and was the best friend, sister, daughter, granddaughter and aunt that anyone could possibly ask for.  She had a huge heart and an infectious laugh.  She will be missed by all of us.

Sabrina led a normal life until her early twenties.  She enjoyed her college experience, excelling in her coursework and making life-long friends.  Just after graduation, when she moved to New York to start her first job, Sabrina started having balance problems, difficulty walking and mild problems with executive function. Doctors and neurologist could not identify the reason for her symptoms until a genetic test revealed that she was affected by a mitochondrial disease identified as POLG 1.

POLG 1 is most often diagnosed in children when it progresses rapidly. As an adult, onset of the disease progressed relatively slowly until at age 30 when she experienced serious epileptic seizures and was hospitalized for ten days.  After this episode, Sabrina’s condition slowly deteriorated.  She experienced symptoms across most of her systems, from vision problems to extreme fatigue and myoclonus, to name only a few.

Then on May 14, 2022, Sabrina’s condition rapidly degenerated. She started having seizures that could not be controlled leading to her passing at the age of 40. Sabrina was committed to helping scientists find out more about Mitochondrial Diseases in the hope of eventually developing a cure. Sabrina was on the Junior Board of the New York Stem Cell Foundation, that honored her with the “ Stem Cell Hero Award” in 2014. She also participated in clinical trials through Columbia University, and met with medical students to answer questions and serve as a case study so that they could better understand POLG 1. Even in death, she continued working for a cure by gifting her organs to science.

Please help us continue the work that Sabrina felt so passionately about by donating to the United Mitochondrial Disease Foundation. Our joint wish is that some day there will be a cure so that no other family has to endure the pain of watching their loved one struggle with this debilitating and deadly disease.