alarm:clock

Where Are They Now - Monday, August 27, 2007

Silicon Valley Fixture Mike Homer Has Rare Disease

Netscape alum and serial founder Mike Homer has a rare disease that has no known cure. 300 donor/friends have contributed $6M in the past 3 months to fund a program to save Homer's life (as well as others who suffer from the disease).

Homer is just 49 and is a father of 3 who resides in Atherton. In addition to running marketing at Netscape he also helped to launch Opsware, Tivo and Palm. Homer's last 2 videeo startups were KonTiki (sold to Verisign) and Open Media Network OMN, a non-profit "PBS of the Web" venture .

Ten months back, Homer started to lose short term memory but thought it was sleep apnia. His friend Marc Andreesen was concerned and intervened, urging him to visit Stanford Hospital, where Andreesen is on the board. Stanford gave him the bad news that he actually had Creutzfeld-Jakob Disease, a neuro -degenarative disorder. Victims are born with it and by the time symptoms are apparent when people hit in their 30s or 40s, there is typically only a year or two left to live. Homer is currently being treated at UC San Francisco Medical Center which is home to the world's foremost experts in this disease.

Friends of Homer's including angel investor Ron Conway and former Intuit CEO Bill Campbell have stepped in to raise funding for Homer's cause.

If you want to help:
Homer Family Foundation for Brain Disease Research
PO Box 10195
Palo Alto, CA 94303

Creutzfeld-Jakob Disease Foundation

Read - The Fight of his Life (SF Business Times - password protected)