A New York family was recently witness to overwhelming kindness from friends and strangers alike, in a quest to save their children.

Jennie and Gary Landsman are parents to Benny and Josh, two young boys ages 4 and 3. The boys suffer from Canavan disease, a rare, life-threatening progressive brain disorder. Most children with Canavan disease die by age ten. Three years ago the Landsmans were told by doctors that there is nothing they can do to save their boys.

But despite the grim prognosis, the Landsmans did not give up hope on finding a solution.

Through doing research on Canavan, they learnt about Dr. Paola Leone, a renowned neuroscientist, and director of the Cell and Gene Therapy Center at Rowan University’s School of Osteopathic Medicine in New Jersey. As one of the top experts on Canavan disease in the world, Leone and her team have been working on developing cutting edge treatments for neurological diseases for over 20 years.

Through working with Dr. Leone it became apparent that finding a cure would mean much more than saving their children. If the therapy works as expected, scientists will then use the research and apply the gene therapy treatment to other brain disorders such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, ALS, and Multiple Sclerosis. This means the Landsmans had a chance to help a much larger part of the population.

Although the hope was great, the price tag seemed insurmountable. The Landsmans needed $650,000 right after Shavuos, to pay for the last invoice to the drug manufacturer to release the treatment.

After coming so far, the Landsmans were not ready to give up. They started a Chesed Fund campaign in the hopes that at least a portion of the money would be raised.

Much to their surprise, not only was their goal met, it in fact was exceeded! Over the past two weeks over 7,000 new donors stepped up and donated generously. Over $550K has been raised and another $100K has been pledged. The final payment for the medication was made, and Benny and Josh will finally have their much needed treatment!

At this point, there is just one final chapter remaining. Each child will require approximately 3 weeks in the hospital. These hospital stays are not covered by insurance companies. These three weeks consist of a one week stay prior to the operation to deliver the gene therapy, during which they will undergo monitoring, testing, and MRI’s. Approximately two weeks after the surgery, the children will need to be monitored in the ICU, with follow ups over the subsequent weeks and months to monitor the effects. The estimated cost for all the hospital stays is $280K per child.

Once the last $560K is raised, the Landsman’s will finally be able to close this chapter for good, and Benny and Josh will be able to enjoy a happy and healthy life just like other children around them.

To help the Landsman’s achieve their goal of saving their children and making medical history by contributing towards a cure for Multiple Sclerosis, ALS or even Alzheimer’s disease, visit their Chesed Fund Page HERE.

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