8-Year-Old Raises Almost $1M to Save His Friend’s Life

Eight-year-old Dylan Siegel wrote a book two years ago to raise money to find a cure for his best friend’s rare disease. Now he’s raised almost one million dollars.
8-Year-Old Raises Almost $1M to Save His Friend’s Life
Jonah Pournazarian (L) and Dylan Siegel (R) in an undated family photo. Courtesy David Siegel
Sarah Le
Updated:

LOS ANGELES—Eight-year-old Dylan Siegel’s best friend since preschool is Jonah Pournazarian.

A few years ago, Dylan found out that Jonah had a rare liver condition called Glycogen Storage Disease (GSD), type 1b. 

With GSD Type 1b, Jonah’s body can’t process sugars very well. If his blood sugar is not strictly regulated through frequent small meals, his life could be in danger. Since the disease is so rare, research is slim, and there is no cure.

Dylan remembers one day on the way home from school when his mom told him about Jonah’s disease.

“I’m like, ‘Oh my god, this is so horrible,’” he said. “‘I want to help.’”

At first, Dylan wanted to donate $100 from his bank account.

His mom, Debra Siegel, suggested putting together a bake sale or a lemonade stand instead. But Dylan decided to do something much bigger.

He wrote and illustrated a 16-page book called “Chocolate Bar.”

Eight-year-old Dylan Siegel's book Chocolate Bar and a chocolate bar donated by Whole Food Market in Los Angeles on Nov. 14. (Sarah Le/Epoch Times)
Eight-year-old Dylan Siegel's book Chocolate Bar and a chocolate bar donated by Whole Food Market in Los Angeles on Nov. 14. Sarah Le/Epoch Times
Sarah Le
Sarah Le
reporter
Sarah Le is an editor for The Epoch Times in Southern California. She lives with her husband and two children in Los Angeles.
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