Tag Archive for: Wolfram syndrome

Vocational Rehabilitation – Adam Zwan

Maybe or Maybe Not

image of a golf cartOriginally, I was told that Vocational Rehabilitation could provide financial assistance towards a street legal golf cart. When I first heard these words I was exhilarated to think that independent transportation is a possibility. I am still not full time at the wellness and rehabilitation center I work for so financial assistance is needed to acquire a street legal golf cart. It was explained that I must obtain a quote for a golf cart, add it to my file, Vocational Rehabilitation would purchase the golf cart, and then Vocational Rehabilitation would receive a tax rebate. It was all planned out and I was feeling optimistic that a Wolfram Patient, like me, could increase level of independence. Although, I try my best to be cautiously optimistic by saying that it may happen or it may not.
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Independence – Adam Zwan

wolfram syndrome independenceI recently moved out of my parents’ home to live on my own in an apartment all in an effort to gain some independence and self-sufficiency. It has been a start to the next chapter in my life with both pros and cons. It feels good to depend on myself to fulfill everyday tasks but it will take some time for my family to relax and feel confident that I can fend for myself.
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Renovation of an old drug

One of the exciting things that were offered during our visit to NIH, NCATS, was to renovate old drugs and make them more specific for Wolfram syndrome and other endoplasmic reticulum-related diseases. We have identified three FDA-approved drugs that can potentially delay the progression of Wolfram syndrome. These drugs were originally designed and indicated for other disorders. We are certainly interested in using one of these drugs for our interventional study after we determine the dose of the drug using our animal models and cell models of Wolfram syndrome. In parallel, they recommend that we modify the structures of these old drugs and make them more suitable for Wolfram syndrome. Their medicinal chemists have the ability to do this. This is a “renovation” of an old drug. I look forward to this exciting collaboration. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you.

Thank you for your continued support. I am quite hopeful.

Kindest regards,

Fumi Urano

renovation in progress

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Our visit to NIH was fruitful

Stephanie Snow Gebel, the founder of the Snow Foundation, and I visited NIH, National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, yesterday. Our visit to NIH was quite fruitful. I learned a lot about the NIH’s efforts on developing novel treatments for rare diseases. I met with Dr. Christopher Austin’s team and discussed our potential collaboration on Wolfram syndrome and related disorders. We will further discuss our collaboration on April 17th. They have a very strong drug development team. If we can develop a new drug targeting the endoplasmic reticulum specifically designed for Wolfram, this may lead to a novel treatment for diabetes. I am excited by this opportunity. Please stay tuned!

Thank you for your continued support and encouragement.

Take care,

Fumi Urano

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PHD: Pray, Hope, and Don’t Worry – Adam Zwan

Wolfram syndrome moving vanMy whole life has revolved around health status and trying to control the progression of Wolfram syndrome. Even though the harder I try, the more difficult it seems to get. I decided to take a big chance and try living on my own. It has been made clear to me that everyone around me worries regardless of the circumstances. Thus, worrying will continue the rest of my life so I must make a change and do something for myself.
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Rare Disease Day and Francis Collins Raise Awareness For The Snow Foundation

Last week, in honor of Rare Disease Day, the Snow Foundation was interviewed by the St. Louis ABC affiliate, KDNL ABC 30.

The story focused on Stephanie Gebel and her fight for a cure for Wolfram syndrome and to revolutionize the diabetic world. Here is the story featured on the Jamie Allman Show.

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Fly in the Ointment – Adam Zwan

flyinointmentMy uncle was the head baseball coach at Tulane University for a little more than 20 years and he, my aunt and I attended the Tulane alumni event in New Orleans, LA. When I was younger I used to be the equipment manager for the Rick Jones Tulane Baseball camp every summer for about 12 years. Thus, I got to know the players, coaches, and several alumni in previous years that also attended the 2015 Tulane alumni event. I had a fantastic time but simultaneously I felt like a man surrounded by worry.
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A Mom’s Take On The Paris Wolfram Symposium

Stephanie Snow Gebel at Paris Wolfram symposium

Me and fellow Wolfram syndrome families from Italy along with Dr. Urano.

I attended my 3rd Wolfram symposium held in Paris France this past week. I brought along with me my sweet daughter Raquel and our babysitter, Kat Broom. I felt it was important to let Raquel experience Paris before she completely loses all of her eyesight.  As of now, she is considered legally blind.

I am usually invited to the Paris Wolfram symposium because I represent a foundation from the United States that has been raising money to help fund Wolfram syndrome research. This research will ultimately lead to a drug therapy.

The meeting is comprised of researchers, scientists and doctors who discuss their discoveries over the last 18 months. Half of the information that was shared was way over my head. Towards the end of the meeting I decided to be brave and speak up. I shared my feelings that although all their studies on various aspects of Wolframs are important, we need to discover drug therapies to stop the progression of this disease. (I had to back pedal a little and re-state my words because I came across a little harsh and straight to the point. For those of you who really know me, that would not surprise you).

Raquel Gebel at Paris Wolfram symposium

Raquel lighting at candle for her cousin Jake at one of the beautiful Paris cathedrals.

This whole ordeal is a slow process, I understand, but as a mother who has to continually watch her child suffer because of this disease, I feel like we are going at a snails pace. I had a couple individuals speak their mind as well, and it was not in my favor. I held my own though, with the exception of breaking out in a rash on my neck and chest because of my nerves. I made it very clear that these children and young adults do not have time to wait. If the money is being raised, lets hit this and hit it fast. My goal when I return to Paris (which will be in another 18 months) is that I will be able to let all these individuals know that my previous comment about going to slow was just what they needed to hear. You can have all the brilliance of M.D.s, Ph.D.’s, scientists etc. but never, I say never go up against a MOM! You are not going to win…

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Running Out of Senses – Adam Zwan

Image of 5 SensesWolfram Syndrome patients, like me, suffer from optic atrophy and deafness. It’s a belief that deaf and blind individuals rely on their other senses to experience life. A great example is Helen Keller because she had to depend on taste, smell, and touch to accomplish all of her lifetime endeavors. Unfortunately, vision and hearing are not the only senses that Wolfram patients struggle with.
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The challenge of the simple things – Lauren Gibilisco

Wolfram syndrome patient Lauren GibiliscoSometimes it’s doing the simple things in life that someone with Wolfram syndrome has trouble doing.

One morning last week my mom was going to work and she was going to drop me off at work. We were heading out the door when she remembered she didn’t put back on her wedding rings. She went into the office where she took them off last night. Well, they weren’t there. She then went into the kitchen to see if she had taken them off there. They weren’t there. Now she was starting to get frantic. She checked in the living room, the bathroom and the bedroom. They were not to be found. All this time I hear her rushing back and forth. So what could I do? Absolutely nothing. If I tried to help her look I would probably knock something off a counter and it would break and I would just cause her more problems. I felt so bad that I couldn’t help her. So I sat there and did the only thing that I could do. I started praying. I prayed to St. Anthony who is the patron saint of lost things. I asked for his help in helping my mom find her rings. She kept saying I know I took them off in the office. She sat in the office chair just feeling devastated. She looked around closely to everything in the room and finally said “I know where they are.” She then picked up a bottle of jewelry cleaner. Last night she put them in the solution to clean the rings. My mom was so happy now. I just whispered my thanks to St. Anthony.

I get really bored at home. My mom told me my sister was going out of town for several days and we get to keep Emmy, her dog. We were going to pick her up on Friday. That week I worked on Wednesday and Thursday. I was so excited to get her. Riding home my mom asked me if I wanted to hold her. I really wanted to but I was just so tired I had to sleep on the ride home. Then when we got home that night and I was still so tired that I had to go to bed right after supper. I still had Saturday and Sunday to enjoy her. Unfortunately they were no better. I was still tired and although I played with her some I couldn’t really enjoy her because of my fatigue. But there was one thing I could do that really helped out. Emmy is a very good dog and obeys commands except for when you say “come.” She thinks it’s a game and goes running around. Both my mom and dad have so much trouble catching her to put her in the kennel. I wish I could see what they look like but I can imagine from hearing them running around so out of breath. She will never let them catch her. So my mom yelled at me to sit down and call for Emmy. So I sat down and said “Emmy come here.” Emmy walked over to me and sat in my lap and I was able to pick her up so we could get her in the kennel. Emmy has always been that way for me. It’s like she knows I can’t see her so she makes it easy for me to get her. They always say dogs can sense things. So sometimes I guess it’s a blessing to be blind.

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