shockedcanadian
Diamond Member
- Aug 6, 2012
- 30,491
- 27,734
The parents didn't give up and they saved their child while also ensuring many children in the future can live also.
Thanks to medical researchers in Washington and a Gofundme which probably received money from all across the globe. I need to find answers also, whatever the costs I can't keep living with these pains in the same area of my brain.
www.thestar.com
Terry and Georgia Pirovolakis were desperate to learn what was wrong with their baby boy.
The answer would leave them devastated.
In 2019, after repeatedly inconclusive tests, two-year-old Michael was diagnosed with an ultra-rare, neurodegenerative illness known as SPG50.
In the wake of the news, the life the couple had imagined for their son seemed to shatter around them, they say.
“Literally everything we had hoped for for Michael was pretty much taken away from us,” says Georgia. “There was no high school, there was no university. There was no getting married, having kids, no first love, no graduation. All the things a parent wishes for their child, it’s kind of vanished.”
Yet even in the depths of their grief, Terry says, the path before them was crystal clear — to do whatever they could to make Michael better, no matter the cost.
“We had no choice,” he says. “Doing nothing was impossible.”
The following months saw the couple connect with leading scientists, liquidate their life savings and throw themselves into fundraising for a cure.
Then, years and $4.5 million later, researchers made a breakthrough.
Thanks to medical researchers in Washington and a Gofundme which probably received money from all across the globe. I need to find answers also, whatever the costs I can't keep living with these pains in the same area of my brain.
Their baby was diagnosed with an incurable illness. So this Toronto couple set about finding a treatment — and succeeded
Two-year-old Michael Pirovolakis was diagnosed with a devastating illness. Four years and $4.5 million later, researchers made a breakthrough.
www.thestar.com
Terry and Georgia Pirovolakis were desperate to learn what was wrong with their baby boy.
The answer would leave them devastated.
In 2019, after repeatedly inconclusive tests, two-year-old Michael was diagnosed with an ultra-rare, neurodegenerative illness known as SPG50.
In the wake of the news, the life the couple had imagined for their son seemed to shatter around them, they say.
“Literally everything we had hoped for for Michael was pretty much taken away from us,” says Georgia. “There was no high school, there was no university. There was no getting married, having kids, no first love, no graduation. All the things a parent wishes for their child, it’s kind of vanished.”
Yet even in the depths of their grief, Terry says, the path before them was crystal clear — to do whatever they could to make Michael better, no matter the cost.
“We had no choice,” he says. “Doing nothing was impossible.”
The following months saw the couple connect with leading scientists, liquidate their life savings and throw themselves into fundraising for a cure.
Then, years and $4.5 million later, researchers made a breakthrough.
