See This Dad's Emotional Plea to Help Save His Daughter's Life
As his daughter fights for her life, AJ Tesler hopes to use Facebook in order to share her story with the man who started it all: Mark Zuckerberg.
Five-year-old Magnolia is currently suffering from a rare neurological disorder called Rett syndrome. Her father describes the condition as if the symptoms of cerebral palsy, Parkinson's disease, and epilepsy were all in one little girl. After Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan announced the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative for "advancing human potential and promoting equality," Tesler knew that he needed to reach out on behalf of his own daughter and the 350,000 women and girls worldwide who suffer from this debilitating condition.
In an emotional video posted on Facebook, Tesler uses cards to create an open letter to the couple explaining his daughter's disorder. He calls attention not only to the fact that females almost exclusively are affected by Rett syndrome but also that there's potential to find a cure with additional funding.
"I wonder if when you were dreaming of Facebook, you knew how much it would change the world," Tesler asks. "I wonder that because when I dreamed of having a daughter, I had no idea how she might change the world."
The moving video made its way to the Facebook CEO in just two days thanks to thousands of shares, and Zuckerberg responded in a comment.
I saw your video! Thanks so much for sharing Magnolia's story. She sounds like a wonderful girl fighting a tough battle, and she's lucky to have a dad like you. We started the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative to help kids like Magnolia grow up healthy and reach their potential — and one of our goals is to cure, treat or manage all disease by the end of the century. So tell Magnolia we're working on it, and we'll be thinking about her!