Dasal ang hinihiling ni Sharmaine Arnaiz dahil sumasailalim sa kasalukuyan sa clinical trial ang kanyang pamangking si Moira Greenway upang madugtungan ang buhay nito.
Si Moira ang 24-year-old love child ng kapatid ni Sharmaine na si Bunny Paras kay Mohan Gumatay, na higit na kilala sa showbiz name nitong DJ Mo Twister.
Mensahe ni Sharmaine (published as is): "My niece @moirafrancesca is my hero. I want to say you are so brave and im rooting for you.
"We have wished and hoped for a cure. I do pray this drug trial is successful.
"With every piercing and painful biopsies and stitches and countless injections, blood draws i pray to god it will be all worth it.
"Please pray with me dear friends thats all i ask."
Friedreich Ataxia ang natuklasang karamdaman ni Moira noong sampung taon pa lamang ang edad nito.
Ang Friedrich Ataxia ay isang uri ng sakit na nakakaapekto sa nervous system ng katawan kaya hindi na nakakalakad si Moira.
Read: Moira Greenway says she won't change a thing despite disability: "I really, really like who I am."
WHAT IS FRIEDREICH ATAXIA?
Ngayong Lunes, Setyembre 25, 2023, nagpaunlak si Bunny na magsalita sa Philippine Entertainment Portal (PEP.ph) tungkol sa kalagayan ng kanyang anak para magkaroon ng sapat na kaalaman ang publiko tungkol sa karamdaman ni Moira.
Matagal nang naninirahan sa Amerika si Bunny, kasama ang anak na si Moira at mister na si Tom Greenway.
Lahad ng dating aktres sa PEP.ph: “Moira had a clinical trial. Nandoon pa rin siya sa New Jersey dahil sa Friedreich Ataxia, which is a life-threatening illness, so we always try to be part of clinical trials kapag puwede.
“Ang nangyayari sa clinical trial, she has to be in the hospital. Talagang naka-lock in siya sa hospital ng three weeks.
"Tapos meron pa siyang another week and a half wherein nakakabalik na siya sa hotel, pero babalik pa rin sa hospital.
"Kasi the doctors have to check her vitals, they have to get her blood, they have to do biopsy, they have to cut her skin and get muscle tissue tapos tinatahi uli.
“They have to inject the medications sa kanya. Medyo nag-i-irritate yung skin niya. Parang may burning sensation.
"Kasi it’s a new drug they’re trying to see if it’s helping them. It’s not a cure but it’s trying to help them add that missing protein na kulang sa katawan niya.
“It’s like muscular dystrophy, hindi siya makalakad. Weak yung nerves and muscles niya. Yung main muscle natin is the heart.”
Read: Bunny Paras so proud of daughter Moira for rising above her disability
Bilang isang ina, masakit para kay Bunny ang mga nakikita niyang pagdurusa ng panganay na anak.
Saad niya, “Friedrich Ataxia is a rare juvenile genetic sickness na both me and DJ Mo Twister are carriers of the certain gene.
“My husband Tom, siya talaga yung nandiyan for Moira ever since. Sobrang supportive si Tom. Mahal niya talaga si Moira.
"I can’t ask for anything more when it comes to my husband.
"At saka si God, hindi Niya kami pinapabayaan as a family."
Pagpapatuloy ni Bunny: “Hindi rin madali yung clinical trial kasi hindi mo alam yung side effects sa ibang parts ng katawan.
“Right now, maraming side effects, napapagod yung katawan ni Moira kesa sa lumalakas.
"So, hindi talaga natin alam kung ano ba talaga yung magiging effect ng drug na tina-try nila to see if may nagagawa ba talaga o wala, to help them to be stronger, kasi ang daming puwedeng mangyari as time goes by.
“Talagang they get weaker and weaker. Kailangan nila talaga ng something to help them, at least a drug, to help extend their lives.”
Sa kabila nito, hindi nawawalan ng pag-asa at taimtim na ipinagdarasal ni Bunny na maging tagumpay ang drug trial kay Moira.
“Nakakaawa lang yung bata kasi siyempre, hindi na siya naglalakad talaga. Mahina ang katawan niya.
“Yung katawan natin makes one hundred percent frataxin proteins, yung katawan niya makes ten percent kaya hindi na siya makalakad.
“Seven years old pa lang si Moira, nag-start nang mag-diminish yung muscular function niya. Nakapag-walker na siya, nakapag-wheelchair na rin.
"They still have to do a lot more test, a lot more medications, a lot more checking of vitals.
"Pero in one day, tulad ng post ni Ate [Sharmaine], talagang pagod na pagod si Moira. Kawawa talaga," pagbabahagi ni Bunny.