A B.C. baby who needs one of the world’s most expensive drugs to save his life will soon be getting treatment.
One-year-old Aryan Deol has spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), a condition that causes muscular weakness and atrophy.
Just like fellow B.C. baby Lucy Van Doormaal, Deol needs a drug called Zolgensma before he turns two years old. At a price tag of about $3 million, it seemed at first that the costly treatment was out of reach but after Bollywood star Neeru Bajwa shared the crowdfunding campaign on social media, the fundraising goal has been reached.
Without the drug, SMA would steal Deol’s ability to walk or even eat.
On the GoFundMe page, the Deol family says it will keep everyone informed about Aryan’s treatment.
“From the bottom of (our) hearts, we want to thank everyone who has supported Aryan in his fight,” the update reads.
“Without all of you, nothing was possible. We’re speechless, a simple thank you is not enough.”
The family told Global News on Sunday that Aryan just turned one on Friday and they received the best present ever.
“Not only did we meet our $2.8 [million] goal but we were above that,” dad Gaganpreet Deol said.
“I was completely shocked because we were at $40,000 on July 13 and in less than a month we got $3 million. We don’t even know how that happened.”
“Everybody wants to save one life – it’s a baby’s life.”
Mom Harpreet said she still can’t believe it. “I’m so happy, so grateful, so thankful. I don’t have words to say thank you to everyone, even my words can’t thank them.”
Now the family will be coordinating with Aryan’s hospital to bring the drug to Canada but it’s not sure how long that will take.
© 2020 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
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