Hello! Our beloved son, Joseph Hawk, is fighting for his life everyday. He doesn’t get to do the many things a normal 6 year old boys get to do. Joey has an ultra rare neurological disorder called Alternating Hemiplegia of Childhood. This disorder is a bizarre disorder that mimics a broad array of more well know disorders such as autism, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, mitochondrial disorders, and cerebral palsy. Different aspects of AHC can manifest at any given time, making life with AHC extremely unpredictable. The AHC community is working on many research projects to help find a treatment for AHC. We can’t do it alone though. We need YOUR help. By donating through this page to the Alternating Hemiplegia of Childhood Foundation, you are helping fund the latest and best scientific research available. Please help Joey and the others like him to find treatment by donating today. Thank you!

With funds raised from the AHC Foundation, we will support AAV gene therapy and other research related to the project.  We believe a path has been identified to a viable permanent treatment: gene therapy.  The gene therapy we propose will involve inserting a functional copy of the ATP1A3 gene into a virus (an adeno-associated virus or AAV) that has been stripped of its harmful payload and its ability to reproduce. The virus will then be injected into the cerebrospinal fluid and will carry the functional gene to the cells in the brain that are failing. By delivering additional functional copies of the gene, we should be able to rescue those cells, and treat the disease permanently. 

Learn more about the project here.