The Sarkar family defied the odds Thursday with the announcement that they’ve reached their $1 million fundraising goal, with actor Mark Wahlberg’s $8,000 donation pushing the drive over the top as they seek a cure for a rare disease that has afflicted their 6-year-old son.
Carter Sarkar was diagnosed with Type A chronic pancreatitis and Sanfilippo syndrome, according to Carter’s mother, Jennifer Sarkar.
“We are humbled and overwhelmed with joy — this means the world to us,” said Jennifer Sarkar. “This money will help fund the preclinical steps, such as drug production, toxicology and Food and Drug Administration steps needed.”
Although the road has been long and hard, days like Thursday give the Sarkar family hope for their son’s cure, as well as many other children who suffer the same illness.
Sarkar shared the news on the family’s GoFundme account when their million-dollar-goal was finally reached Thursday. A last-minute, $8,000 donation from Wahlberg helped the Sarkars surpass their goal.
Cure Sanfilippo has committed this $1 million raised from Saving Carter to fund a new enzyme replacement clinical trial, Sarkar said. Hope continues to grow in the Sarkar family with this donation — it helps the clinical trial get up and running, she said.
The trial could take 18 to 24 months to get started, but if it goes as planned, they will start enrolling kids like Carter. This will not only help kids with Type A, but hopefully start a similar trial for kids with Type B, she added.
“It’s a great day for Sanfilippo research,” Jennifer Sarkar said, taking the opportunity to also express gratitude to the community that helped. “Thanks for all the support on the campaign. Every bit helped push this toward our goal.”
To support or follow Carter’s journey visit the Sarkars’ website https://carterschallenge.com or visit their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/Carterschallenge.
