Hala wants to survive, 2022
Little Hala Al-Hanidi, suffers from a disorder that killed her brother Ahmed last year. He was only 7 years old, but he had all the diseases of an old man when he passed. We don’t want that same thing to happen to his sister, and with your help, we can reverse the damage already done and save her life.
Right now she is starting to look like an older person. Her blood pressure gets too high, her joints are stiff, she is losing her ability to walk and play with her siblings.
When Hala’s mother was pregnant with Ahmed, she was exposed to a large dose of deadly chemicals that started the changes. It was chemical warefare released where they lived. Both of these children were born looking normal, but after a short time, began to develop the deadly signs of the disorder. Through research they have developed a new medicine. PCT was able to help get this for Ahmed, but if possible, Hala will be receiving it sooner, at a younger age.
Now doctors know that there is a treatment available that prolongs the life of the sufferer and even improves it if caught early enough. There is an FTI inhibitor, a drug that can reverse an abnormality in Progeria cells in the laboratory. All 3 drugs block the production of the farnesyl molecule that is needed for progerin to create the disease. They are able to reverse some of the worst symptoms including heart disorders, a stiffening of the joints, and the wasting is reversed. But that treatment is not easily available in Gaza and it is almost impossible to take a child to receive it. The medication itself can be donated from a research project in the US, but the cost of the trips to the hospital, the other medications, are too much for a family to bear. The house must be cleaned and their food must be good. Water must be purified. All of these are difficult to impossible in the camps.
Progeria has a several associated diseases: scleroderma, heart issues, arthritis and high blood pressure. Scleroderma is a stiffening of the layers of the skin and it starts to shrink away from the cartlidge. It happens slowly, but visibly, day by day.
Now doctors know that there is a treatment available that prolongs the life of the sufferer and even improves it if caught early enough. There is an FTI inhibitor, a drug that can reverse an abnormality in Progeria cells in the laboratory. All 3 drugs block the production of the farnesyl molecule that is needed for progerin to create the disease.
They are able to reverse some of the worst symptoms including heart disorders, a stiffening of the joints, and the wasting is reversed. But that treatment is not easily available in Gaza and it is almost impossible to take a child to receive it. The medication itself can be donated from a research project in the US, but the cost of the trips to the hospital, the other medications, are too much for a family to bear. The house must be cleaned and their food must be good. Water must be purified. All of these are difficult to impossible in the camps.
A three months’ supply of the medication and the trips for medical care cost approximately $1400 every 3 months. We are asking for your help to reverse this disease in little Hala before it is too late.
