Harnessing Grief: A Mother's Quest for Meaning and Miracles

Maria Kefalas’s daughter Calliope was diagnosed with a degenerative, uncurable genetic disease, MLD. Maria, a fearless warrior for her daughter, developed a superpower of grief that gave her a bell-like clarity. With their two older children, they raised money to find a cure for Cal’s disease.

A research team in Italy was closing in on an effective gene therapy for MLD, though it came too late for Cal. This news sparked an unexpected journey that introduced Maria and her family to world-renowned scientists, brilliant doctors, biotech CEOs, a Hall of Fame NFL quarterback, and a wise nun. They sold 50,000 cupcakes and traveled to the FDA, NIH, and Congress in search of a cure that would never save their child. Their lives became intertwined with the families of 13 children whose lives would be transformed by one of the biggest medical breakthroughs in a generation.

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