Chloe Fernandez is an 11-year-old with primary ciliary dyskinesia, and that hasn’t stopped her from being an advocate for the disease, reports Los Angeles Times. When given several amazing opportunities from the Make A Wish Foundation, one being the chance to meet Ellen Degeneres, she chose the opportunity to make her own book with hopes to bring awareness to her disease.
Primary ciliary dyskinesia, also known as PCD, is a rare disease that produces an excessive amount of mucus, leading to a buildup that causes breathing issues and lung infections. The disease affects one child in every 16,000-20,000 live births, according to NORD. Not many people know about the disease, so Chloe feels like it’s her duty to change that. To learn more about PCD, click here.
When looking at the kids book section at the hospital, she struggled to find any books that were directly relatable to her. There were none on PCD or anything similar, so she thought, why not write one herself! With the support of the Make A Wish Foundation, she successfully published her book called, “PCD Has Nothing on Me” and has spent much of her time promoting the book and her disease through social media. LifeRich Publishing had the honors of publishing her book, and Kaitlyn Cooper penned the illustrations.
Due to Chloe’s advocacy, she was noticed by WebMD and awarded the honor of being their 2017 Health Hero! In addition to winning the award, WebMD will donate $25,000 to any charity of her choosing.
Chloe has continued to promote her book through her website and social media accounts, finding much success of bringing awareness about for PCD. Not only does she want others to know more about PCD, but she sought out the attention with hopes to one day find a cure so others like her don’t have to live their entire lives disadvantaged.
Check out her book on Amazon here.
