Gigi Breadiy

Mother, Azeza, with Gehad

Azeza Kasham from Ann Arbor, Michigan, is pleading for support for her son Gigi’s fight against Lafora disease. Mother of three, she has already lost her firstborn son, Haitham, to this devastating disease at just 16 years old in 2019. Azeza is now fighting for her second son, Gehad, affectionately called Gigi, also diagnosed with Lafora disease, who is only 12.

Hope for Gigi

A cure didn’t come in time for Haitham, but there is hope for Gigi. Lafora disease is a single-gene disorder. By replacing one gene, you can cure the disease. Scientists have shown they can treat the deadly disease in the laboratory. Families like Azeza’s are desperate to bring these treatments out of the labs and into the children who need them.

Gigi at 12

“Losing one son to this disease is enough and now the heartache is harder to bear, going through it all again with Gehad.”  cried Azeza Kasham.

Prior to this diagnosis, children like Haitham and Gigi were like most other teens in the USA, attending school full-time with no signs or symptoms of any abnormalities. They were healthy and normal, had social relationships with family, friends, and peers.

Haitham deteriorated rapidly in a period of about three months, during which he lost his ability to walk or speak in sentences before his passing.

“One day he just fell on the floor and had a seizure” said Azeza Kasham

Haitham Breadiy

In 2017, Azeza reached out to Chelsea’s Hope Lafora Children’s Research Fund for support when Haitham was diagnosed and again in 2019 with Gehad. Small donations and emotional support have been provided by our small organization to help care for Gigi, but more is needed to make their home accessible and cover their bills.

Azeza had to stop working full-time to care for her family and her husband, who is recently in remission from Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, so not only has it been hard emotionally, but the family is not able to financially support themselves due to these illnesses.

Our goal is to raise awareness and much-needed funding to continue being able to support families like Gigi’s, Lafora research, and develop treatments. Chelsea’s Hope has done so much in recent years, and we are almost there….Hope is closer than it ever has been before!