With tears in her eyes, Sophomore Principal Dr. Amy Sturges looked around the conference room to see her colleagues wearing orange in support of Prader-Willi Syndrome Awareness Day.
At two weeks old, Dr. Sturges’ son, CJ, was diagnosed with Prader-Willi Syndrome (PWS), a genetic condition that causes a sense of constant hunger, known as hyperphagia. He was born prematurely in late June of 2025 and stayed in the Newborn Intensive Care Unit for 12 weeks after his diagnosis.
On Friday, May 15, staff surprised Dr. Sturges and her family by wearing orange to school on Prader-Willi Syndrome Awareness Day.
“I actually had a meeting this morning, and I was like ‘wait, I know I didn’t tell you, I know I didn’t tell you, is everyone wearing this?’” Dr. Sturges said. “I was a little emotional.”
Before her son’s diagnosis, Dr. Sturges knew nothing about the condition, but she has now been working toward spreading awareness about PWS.
“What I like is that people are becoming more aware of it, which means the studies behind it to be able to find things that help with other symptoms is becoming better and better,” Dr. Sturges said.
Because her son is young, Dr. Sturges is attempting to make changes to her lifestyle now, such as walking daily and eating healthier foods. Dr. Sturges said she hopes that when her son is old enough to start eating, he will adapt accordingly, eventually preventing the condition from further deteriorating his health.
Dr. Sturges said she was especially grateful for MHS staff participating in PWS Awareness Day since it gets people talking about the condition.
“Knowledge is power,” Dr. Sturges said. “The more people know, the more people that are talking about it, the more research that will go out there.”
Although the gesture is something as simple as wearing a t-shirt, Dr. Sturges said participating shows patients and families that they have a community to support them.
“We’re all going through things,” Dr. Sturges said. “It’s not something that’s just for kids that have PWS, it’s just being there for each other in general.”
Andrea Fascetti, administrative assistant, first heard about PWS Awareness Day when Dr. Sturges texted her about it.
“She told me to tell the secretaries, but I thought, ‘I don’t wanna just tell the secretaries,’” Fascetti said.
After communicating with the principals and department heads, Fascetti spread the message to all departments, while keeping it a surprise.
“She peeked out, she was in a meeting all morning and she was like ‘everyone had orange t-shirts on in there’, and I was like ‘yeah, I might have told more people than you wanted me to tell,’” Fascetti said.
Fascetti said it’s important to have staff come together for each other to serve as a reminder that you’re not alone.
“We just wanted her to know that we all support her,” Fascetti said.
Though Jocelyn Nebel Theiss, Spanish teacher, knew nothing about PWS until the meeting, she participated to support Dr. Sturges and her son.
“I love a good theme day, and I love a good cause, so I was determined to remember orange on Friday,” Theiss said.
Dr. Sturges shared resources with staff, which helped Theiss learn more about the condition. Theiss said her understanding of PWS made her empathize with Dr. Sturges as a mother of young children herself.
“We have three little boys each, so it’s nice to have a small community here at Marquette that understands life with little boys and all the joys and struggles,” Theiss said.
Theiss said that MHS’ supportive staff loves showing up for each other, as they want everyone to succeed.
“We wanted to rally behind her because medically complex kiddos and NICU babies are extra special and deserve tons of care and love from their village,” Theiss said.
