A miraculous little girl suffering from an immune disease owes her life to a team from the CHU Sainte-Justine.
In May 2019, little Emmanuelle, then 1 year old, had a violent bout of persistent fever.
The verdict is in: she suffers from a rare immune disease, diagnosed only once every 2 years at Chu Sainte-Justine.
“Emmanuelle had a disease called familial lymphohistiocytosis. It’s a genetic immune deficiency,” explains Dr. Hélène Decaluwe, pediatrician and immunologist at CHU Sainte-Justine.
Dr. Decaluwe had been conducting research since 2013 at the CHU Sainte-Justine, and was able to demonstrate that Emmanuelle’s disease could be completely controlled in the laboratory thanks to a drug that already exists for adults.
After consulting other specialists, she uses the drug for the first time for a child.
In September 2019, Emmanuelle’s health improved enough to receive a stem cell transplant from an unknown donor.
She is now in complete remission.