Jack is Back! Chapin student returns to school following experimental gene therapy treatment
CHAPIN, SC (WOLO) — Following months of an experimental gene therapy treatment, one Midlands student is celebrating his first day back to school.
A few minutes before sunrise on a cold and rainy morning, nine-year-old Jack Timmerman arrives to Lake Murray Elementary School by bus — with police escorts in tow.
Two years ago, he was diagnosed with a terminal illness called Batten disease — often leading to blindness, seizures, and dementia.
But on Tuesday, Jack made his return to fourth grade — greeted by his dad, and fellow classmates.
“You know, Jack faces things everyday that most children will never have to face, and should never have to face,” says Jack’s dad, Ned Timmerman.
Also cheering him on were deputies from the Richland County Sheriff’s Department — because Jack is Chief of the school’s Safety Patrol!
“I know a lot of kids from kindergarten up through third, look forward to being a member of safety patrol one day, and a lot of that is because of Jack,” says Master Deputy Todd Minemier.
Over the past four months, he and his family have been in Chicago, where Jack became the fifth child in the world to receive a new experimental gene therapy treatment.
“It was approved by the FDA on a compassionate-use basis — because there were no other options,” says Ned.
Doctors believe the procedure may help Jack produce an enzyme that currently keeps his body from clearing waste from his cells.
And while it’s not a cure, Ned says the hope is to prolong Jack’s life.
“Our hope is, that this will prolong things enough that other science can catch up, and there will be more options,” says Ned.
In the meantime, Jack is happy to be back at school.
“He’s literally been counting down the days, and I asked him yesterday, I said, ‘Jack, are you excited?’ And he was just beaming with joy. I said, ‘What are you most excited about?’ He said, ‘I’m most excited to be back with Safety Patrol.’ I said, ‘Is that it?’ He said, ‘And to see my friends.’ I said, ‘How about learning?’ He said, ‘Not so much,” jokes Ned.
Jack will face multiple follow-ups over the next five years to determine if the experimental treatment is working.
“To have your son be seen and to know that they’re loved, and to know that they matter, that means the world,” says Ned.
