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Published: Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Sudbury Town Crier
SUDBURY - Two Sudbury siblings treated at Children’s Hospital Boston were honored at a send-off celebration at the Framingham Wal-Mart this morning, which included cheers from the staff and free gifts.
Andy Trevino, 9, and his 4 year-old sister Sofía ,will represent the state’s children in Washington D.C., and Florida as the Children’s Miracle Network Champion Children from Massachusetts.
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The Trevino’s will join other child ambassadors from every state as part of the Children’s Miracle Network program, Champions Across America presented by Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club. The program brings attention to the important work being done at children’s hospitals by honoring remarkable children like Andy who have triumphed over medical challenges.
Andy was born with Primary Immune Deficiency, an extremely rare genetic mutation that caused his immune system to fail. With only 62 cases of his genetic condition worldwide, doctors struggled to control Andy’s constant infections until Children’s Hospital’s immuno-genetics specialist, Jordan Orange, MD, PhD, discovered Andy’s problem: a rare NEMO gene mutation, affecting only boys, was suppressing the immune-response signal.
Andy’s only hope for a cure was a stem cell transplant with cells donated from a sibling, his sister, Sofía. Andy endured immune-destroying chemotherapy before receiving the transplant. Within weeks, his immune system regenerated with healthy, normal cells. After 1,000 days in the hospital since his birth, Andy was cured. Today, he is a healthy third-grader with many friends.
Andy Trevino, 9, of Sudbury, center, and his sister Sofia, 4, receive a $500 gift card from the Framingham Wal-Mart from store manager Mike Aubin during a send-off ceremony in their honor Wednesday.
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