An Interview With Seda Filenko As one of the first families dosed with gene therapy, what were some of your thoughts, feelings, hopes, fears, anything you really considered as you made the decision to enroll in the trial? The idea…

It was May of 2020. What started off as a virus we were observing from the US wreak havoc first in Asia, then Europe, was now firmly taking hold locally. The two-week home school period, turned into two months and families were thrown into the impossible transition of figuring out how to work from our living rooms and support our kids’ education through endless Zoom meetings and classes. Life as we knew it was on hold…seemingly endlessly…and many were crippled with fear of the toll COVID-19 could have on us and the world we live in. But something was about to disrupt our lives in a far more meaningful and personal and terrifying way than any global pandemic ever could. 

In the media, people with disabilities often aren’t featured as main characters, if they are included at all, so we wanted to share some kid-friendly shows and movies to help teach kids about acceptance and inclusion. Representation in movies and TV shows is important because it shows people, especially younger kids, that not everyone will look or act the same way and that it is important to be accepting no matter what. 

On October 7th, the Baweja and Warner families hosted our inaugural Waves of Hope Wine Tasting event at the Ocean Institute in Dana Point, CA, raising more than $83,100 in support of CRD’s mission....