A Thankful Mother, a UCLA Researcher and Snowboarding: A Telling Story for CIRM

The latest entry in California's stem cell and gene research narrative

See the video here from Jakob’s mother.

One reader said it brought tears to her eyes -- tears of joy. Another said she broke into a smile. So happy for your family, she said. It was all about a video of a five-year-old snowboarding on a “bunny” slope, but also much, much more.

“This is what gene therapy looks like,” said the mother of the boy, who was treated earlier this year at UCLA for a rare, life-threatening affliction commonly known as the bubble baby disease.

The boy is named Jakob. His mom, Paola Andrea Fernández de Soto Abdul-Rahim, posted the video on LinkedIn on Saturday.

“I never thought I’d see Jakob thriving this way. I was told without gene therapy, I would lose my child.