A desperate mom and dad in South Carolina have turned to viral video making to help save their daughter’s life.
A desperate mom and dad in South Carolina have turned to viral video making to help save their daughter’s life. Cara and Glenn O’Neill were left shocked and unsure of what to do after their 4-year-old daughter, Eliza was diagnosed with a neurological disorder called Sanfilippo syndrome.
Sadly, there is no cure for the disorder and sufferers are left to rapidly deteriorate. Sanfilippo syndrome kills brain cells and most patients die before their teen years.
When the O’Neills researched the disease on the internet, they found out even more bad news. By the time a child is between the ages of 5 and 6, sufferers typically go downhill fast, to the point where they can’t walk, talk or even feed themselves.
Cara and Glenn soon learned that researchers at the Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio found that a type of gene therapy could potentially cure the disease, as preliminary studies found the method was successful in mice.
The problem is that researchers need 2 and a half million dollars to begin testing the therapy on children. That’s when the O’Neills decided to help.
They recruited videographer Benjamin Von Wong to make a viral video. It features Eliza and her distraught parents, who plead for Netizens to donate for the testing, which could possibly save Eliza’s young life.
