The fight of his life

Aug. 24, 2007
Last year Mike Homer helped raise the money for 2,000 medical research computers. Now researchers are using that equipment in an attempt to save his life.
After Homer was diagnosed in May with a rare and invariably fatal brain-wasting disease, his network of friends -- a "who's who" of Silicon Valley money and technology -- marshalled cash, clout and connections on his behalf.
In just three months, they raised nearly $6 million for research, won Homer the personal attention of top doctors at Stanford University and the University of California, San Francisco, and persuaded UCSF's leading scientists and labs to focus on his case in their quest for a cure.
Along the way, a hard truth has sunk in: It isn't going to be enough.
"This money isn't going to keep Mike alive," said Intuit Corp. Chairman Bill Campbell. "But it will help others who have contracted this disease, or maybe we can prevent it."