LZ family raises money for rare neurological disorder

“Doctors don’t do work for free. Because the disorder doesn’t affect as many people as something like Autism, they get no government funding,” Ryan Andrasco, senior, said. “We kind of rely on these family run fundraisers.”

The disorder is Alternating Hemiplegia of Childhood (AHC), caused by a mutation of the gene ATP1A3, according to AHCkids.org. Andrasco’s younger sister, Kylie, is one of the 1 out of 1,000,000 born with the disease. Andrasco’s family, in collaboration with another family, holds a walkathon and raffle to raise money for research for AHC. 

This is our 11th annual walk, the 10th one at Paulus Park,” Andrasco said. “On average, we get about $30,000 after donations from the raffle, company donations and company matching.”

The event, a walk around the park and a raffle with prizes donated by local businesses, is on September 18,  from 10-12:30 at Paulus Park.