Running To Overcome A Disease: One Family's Battle With Rett Syndrome

Until she was 18 months old, Maria Ferre was a healthy baby. Suddenly, she was struck with Rett syndrome, a physically debilitating condition that affects approximately 1 in 15,000 female children worldwide. Symptoms of Rett syndrome include loss of speech and motor control. In Maria’s case, it resulted in extreme disability. Faced with the powerlessness that accompanies fighting a condition without a cure and without widespread public attention, her father, Josele, turned to his passion to help raise awareness. He started running marathons with his daughter, pushing her in a stroller, while the wind caressed her face, bringing her joy. Josele Ferre desperately wants to keep the world from forgetting Maria. The documentary "Linea de meta" ("Finish Line"), which also features her mother, María José, and her two younger siblings, Cristina and Dani, captures the entire family's resilience in the face of this hardship. Throughout the year, they travel as a family to different sporting events. Paola García Costas, the director and screenwriter of the documentary, is a journalist from Sevilla who specializes in health reporting. She has reported on families facing a range of illnesses, "from common things like diabetes to rare diseases," she said at the Giffoni Film Festival, an Italian festival that screened "Linea de meta" in July. Trailer for the documentary "Línea de meta" from Paola García Costas on Vimeo. There are fewer than 3,000 patients with Rett syndrome ...
Source: Healthy Living - The Huffington Post - Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news