Sunny Skies

All I can say is WOW! 

I am busy helping people find their new homes, thinking of how grateful I am for the value you bring to my real estate business. While looking around out in the world, we see blue skies emerging, and the recent cold days will soon be only a memory.  It looks like Spring has sprung. For many across the country, it’s still cold, grey, and snowy! It very well could hail and snow more in the foothills around LA. But one thing is for sure, this winter season is coming to an end. It does every year without fail.

Just like the weather seasons come and seasons go, so do the seasons of life. I’m sure you have noticed as I have the older I get the faster they move by. These “seasons of life” go by so fast, my hope is that you enjoy each one. Yes, some will be hot and others will be cold highs and lows. The lows we want to move by quickly, the highs we want to stay in forever sometimes.

Please know that my team and I are eager to help anyone you know wanting to make a move. So much so that we are willing to make an offer that your referrals will LOVE – AND – the Kids at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles will love too. 

Your referrals help the kids!

Go Serve Big!!! Investing In Our Southern Californian Kids

If you or a friend are thinking about selling, make sure to choose a real estate company you can trust! A real estate company with experience, proven results, and a give-back philosophy!

AND REMEMBER… Your referrals help the Kids…

We are on a mission to raise $25,000 for CHLA. We do this by donating a portion of our income from homes we sell. As you know, Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles does great work in helping kids fight through and survive serious life-threatening diseases like cancer, Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, leukemia and others. They also lead the way in helping kids come back from spinal cord injuries as well as early diagnosis of autism. Last year alone, Children’s helped over 1,000,000 kids right here in Los Angeles. BUT, Children’s relies on sponsorships and donations to provide their elite level of care, and to keep families’ expenses to a minimum. So YOUR REFERRALS REALLY DO HELP THE KIDS…

Who do you know considering buying or selling a home you could refer to my real estate sales team?

Not only will they benefit from our award-winning service, but you can rest assured we are also donating to a very worthy cause.

Go Serve Big!!! Investing in the Children of Los Angeles.

A Real Estate Company that Gives Back!

Children’s Hospital LA leads the way in serving kids one patient at a time.

We are still boldly on a mission to raise $25,000 for Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles, and we are making progress! We do this by donating to them a portion of our income from homes we sell. As you know, CHLA does AMAZING work in helping kids fight through and survive nasty diseases like cancer, Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, leukemia, and others. They also lead the way in many other fields.

They can provide this care and keep patient costs to a minimum due to donations and sponsorships. We are proud to support the Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles!

As in the attached story, Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles provides the best pediatric medical care available anywhere in the country. To do that, CHLA needs donations to continue its leading-edge care. We proudly donate a portion of our income from real estate sales to CHLA to help them continue serving the needs of those who most need it in our Los Angeles!

Who do you know considering buying or selling a home you could refer to our real estate sales team? Not only will they benefit from our award-winning real estate service, but a very worthy cause will also benefit as well. To refer anyone considering buying or selling a home just give me a call or pass on my number. 213-880-9910.

Thank you in advance for your referrals!

You and your referrals mean more than ever to my team and me. As we move forward thru this winter, please know we are extremely thankful for you and you being a special part of our business.

Go Serve Big!!! — Corey Chambers

Entar® Real Estate and Investment Technologies!

P.S. I copied and pasted the story below from the CHLA website. It better tells the story of the work they are doing.

MAKING A DIFFERENCE

As a leading charitable hospital, CHLA depends on sponsorships and donations to continue its leading-edge service. We proudly donate a portion of our income from real estate sales to CHLA to help them continue serving the needs of those who most need it in Los Angeles!

A real estate company with experience, proven results, and a give-back philosophy!

Over the years of helping many families sell their homes and/or buy another, we have met some wonderful, loving, caring people. People like you! So your referrals can rest assured that, not only will they get the award-winning service we are known for and the guarantee to back it up, but that a solid portion of the income we receive will go toward helping the kids.

Refer your friends, neighbors, associates or family members considering making a move:

You can go to www.ReferralsHelpKids.com and enter their contact info online or forward the link to someone you know considering a move.

Of course you can always call me direct as well at 213-880-9910

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Why I support Childrenʼs Hospital Los Angeles

I grew up right here in the Greater Los Angeles Area, born in Los Angeles County at St. Francis Hospital. I remember when I first heard about a young person close to our family suffering from a nasty disease and getting treated for that at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. It was then that I began to pay closer attention to the work they do at that hospital. Since then, I have learned that it is a collection of hard-working health care professionals, most making their home right here in the Los Angeles area, all coming together for a common cause. That cause is to help young people overcome unfortunate health issues that life sometimes throws our way. Being a Los Angeles Area California native, I take pride in supporting in a way that I can do the good work these people do at Children’s. My team rallies around our annual goal of raising money and donating portions of our income to help Children’s in their quest to heal young people when they need healing. My team and I are committed to providing outstanding results for buyers and sellers referred to us by our past clients. I have discovered that Children’s Hospital Los Angeles shares a similar commitment to their patients. And since their services survive on sponsorships and donations, we are happy to contribute and proud to support them.

Sincerely,

Corey Chambers

“Meaningful Hope:” Elevidys Gene Therapy Helps Eliot Move With Ease

At 4 years old, Eliot was the first patient at CHLA to receive Elevidys, a groundbreaking new gene therapy for Duchenne muscular dystrophy. The treatment has been a game changer for his health. | by Caitlin Kryl

Elizabeth was stunned.

She’d just watched her 4-year-old son, Eliot, jump fluidly up and down on his pirate ship (read: bed).

This might sound like the typical activity of a preschool-aged kid. For Eliot, though, it was extraordinary.

Throughout his early life, Eliot couldn’t properly jump, despite attempting often. He’d get winded walking down the block and had difficulty climbing stairs. These were the early manifestations of a genetic mutation linked to a severe degenerative neuromuscular disease, Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD).

Today, however, Elizabeth saw Eliot’s reality shift:

One month earlier, he had received a groundbreaking gene therapy called Elevidys at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. After watching Eliot jump, she even called the neurologist who developed Elevidys to check if it were possible the therapy was already working. “I was very conscious of the placebo effect,” she says. “But no, I was seeing the therapy’s effect.”

Deep inside Eliot’s body, Elevidys was helping his muscle cells get healthy. Eliot’s body was restoring itself.

Life-improving Elevidys

Today, Eliot is a rambunctious 5-year-old who walks, runs, jumps, and climbs with relative ease—and who actually has to be reminded to slow down. 

While Eliot may always have DMD, Elevidys is designed to significantly slow neuromuscular degeneration, and in turn, profoundly improve patients’ quality of life.

Elevidys gene therapy works through a one-time IV infusion. Doctors inject a non-disease-causing virus, called a viral vector, into the patient’s body. That vector’s job is to find the person’s muscle cells. Then, the vector delivers a modified gene that makes a shortened version of dystrophin, a critical protein that patients with DMD have trouble producing.

Early days

Eliot was diagnosed with DMD early and unexpectedly. At 5 months old, he spent five days in the hospital with a bout of RSV. Doctors mentioned noticing abnormal liver function values, which aren’t uncommon for viruses but can also indicate a neuromuscular problem.

When Elizabeth took Eliot to his follow-up appointment at CHLA a week later, his pediatrician, Eyal Ben-Isaac, MD, recommended further monitoring. Dr. Ben-Isaac referred Eliot to Leigh Maria Ramos-Platt, MD, Medical Director of CHLA’s Neuromuscular Disorders Center, for evaluation and genetic testing.

The diagnosis

In January 2020, Dr. Ramos-Platt called Elizabeth to confirm their worst nightmare. Eliot had DMD.

“There are no words to describe that feeling. It’s beyond sadness and grief,” Elizabeth reflects. “I remember saying, ‘I just need to know he’s going to be OK,’ and Dr. Ramos-Platt responding, ‘I think he’s going to be OK.’”

The words Dr. Ramos-Platt offered Elizabeth that January day weren’t platitudes. As the two spoke, researchers were trialing game-changing new treatments for DMD. CHLA had already sent children to participate in some of these clinical trials.

“At the time, her words didn’t give me immediate comfort,” says Elizabeth, “but it wasn’t the conversation I think she would be having with patients 10 years ago.”

“Watching the treatment landscape for DMD shift, I was very optimistic,” says Dr. Ramos-Platt. “It was so different from when I was a medical resident.” Until very recently, people with DMD had few treatment options aside from corticosteroids and physical therapy to reduce inflammation and prolong muscle function. Without more effective treatments, the disease could often lead to loss of motor function and ultimately total immobility, difficulty breathing, and shortened life expectancy.

“I remember saying, ‘I just need to know he’s going to be OK,’ and Dr. Ramos-Platt responding, ‘I think he’s going to be OK.’”Elizabeth

The wait

By March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic had shut down businesses across the globe, slowing progress toward new gene therapies to a crawl. Both Elizabeth and Dr. Ramos-Platt kept close tabs on which trials were progressing, monitoring for any indication from the FDA that a drug would be approved within the next few years.

“We just had to watch and wait. And it was horrible,” Elizabeth says. “Eliot was too young for alternative treatments like steroids. He was so little. We just sat with this terrible information.”

The text

Shortly after Eliot’s fourth birthday, on Jun. 22, 2023, Elizabeth received the text from Dr. Ramos-Platt she’d been dreaming of for three years. Elevidys was officially FDA-approved for 4- and 5-year-olds.

Dr. Ramos-Platt and the Neurological Institute team were ready to spring into action, having conducted several test runs with the drug maker, Sarepta, a month prior. “We’d been building our plan since 2021 based on our experience administering the gene therapy Zolgensmafor spinal muscular atrophy,” Dr. Ramos-Platt recalls. “We didn’t have a concrete process yet for Elevidys—and as the first patient to receive the treatment at CHLA, Eliot’s journey would become our blueprint for patient No. 2, No. 3, and so on.”

Dr. Ramos-Platt introduced Elizabeth to treatment coordinators at Sarepta, and soon began an odyssey of approvals, consents, and back-and-forths with insurance. Eliot’s blood also needed to be tested for any viral antibodies that could interfere with the vector’s ability to deliver the gene therapy.

Once it was confirmed that Eliot was free of any conflicting antibodies, Elizabeth says the family lived their lives “in a bubble,” while staying in constant contact with Dr. Ramos-Platt.

Treatment day: “Like watching someone go to the moon”

To an objective observer, Eliot’s treatment might have looked like any number of routine IV infusions. Except, one day earlier, Eliot’s dose of Elevidys arrived at CHLA with its very own security detail, stored inside a massive, armored, refrigerated box set to exactly minus-76 degrees Fahrenheit.

On Aug. 29, 2023, Eliot, Elizabeth, and Eliot’s father Richard arrived at the CHLA Infusion Center as the pharmacy began thawing and preparing the medicine.

“It was the most extraordinary moment. Still, there were so many things about it that seemed ordinary,” Elizabeth reflects. Eliot was treated in a typical infusion room, sitting on a hospital bed with his stuffed animals like any other child. Inside Eliot’s room, Dr. Ramos-Platt introduced them to Susie Tatoy, RN, who has worked in CHLA’s Infusion Center for more than 40 years. Dr. Ramos-Platt says Tatoy is exactly whom you want by your side on a life-changing treatment day.

“I think almost the entire Neurology team showed up,” Elizabeth recalled. “Then I remember Susie saying, ‘All right, it started.’ And it’s just like … I don’t know … like watching someone go to the moon.”

“It was such an ordinary moment in some ways. And yet what’s happening is they’re transferring a gene to my son to give him something his body can’t produce. And he’s one of, I don’t know, a hundred or so kids who this happened to in the entire world,” says Elizabeth.

Eliot sat there quietly and patiently for the hour-long process and subsequent hours of observation. “It was mind-blowing,” Elizabeth adds. “It moves me every time I go back there in my memory.”

“It was such an ordinary moment in some ways. And yet what’s happening is they’re transferring a gene to my son to give him something his body can’t produce. And he’s one of, I don’t know, a hundred or so kids who this happened to in the entire world.” — Elizabeth

Recovery and milestones

For the next 16 weeks, Eliot and Dr. Ramos-Platt needed to be nearly inseparable. “I become the patient’s best friend,” she often tells families, as patients must undergo weekly tests to ensure their body is responding positively to the therapy. Eliot was a bit shy at first, but eventually, he and Dr. Ramos-Platt bonded over their mutual love of unique animals—especially guinea pigs.

Dr. Ramos-Platt explains that in the first week, patients tend to feel a bit of digestive discomfort, which might persist through the end of the month. She also notes that the care team needs to avoid confusing any early newfound energy with the effects of extra steroids. “But about a month later, they’re doing things that make me say, ‘OK, you didn’t do that before!’”

Before being treated, Eliot scored 22 out of 34 on the North Star Ambulatory Assessment (NSAA), a test used to assess motor function—which indicated that the disease had already begun to impair his movement considerably.

Six weeks after his treatment, he scored a perfect 34 out of 34.

“The physical therapist couldn’t believe her eyes,” Dr. Ramos-Platt recalls. They decided to have Eliot come back another day and conduct the test one more time after he’d stopped taking the extra steroids.

Once again: perfect score.

‘Eliot Day’

Aug. 29, 2024, marked the one-year anniversary of Eliot’s treatment—a day Elizabeth has coined “Eliot Day.”

The family acknowledges Eliot Day not with a cake or a celebration, but with quiet reverence.

“He could tell that things were changing,” says Elizabeth when asked how Eliot processed receiving what she calls “the magic medicine” as a preschooler. “He’s so aware of the seriousness of what happened, and I think it’s probably very overwhelming for someone so young.”

“Internally, as the parent of a child with something so serious, it’s one of those days that is just special,” Elizabeth says. “I think a lot about that day, I talk about it with my husband, and it’s more solemn than celebratory. I don’t mean that negatively—it was just such a profound experience. There is no party or celebration that could capture what gene therapy did for my son.”

I think a lot about that day, I talk about it with my husband, and it’s more solemn than celebratory. I don’t mean that negatively—it was just such a profound experience. There is no party or celebration that could capture what gene therapy did for my son. — Elizabeth

Not fantastical hope, but meaningful hope

Elizabeth encourages other families grappling with a DMD diagnosis to acknowledge that today’s treatment for DMD is “a whole new world and trajectory” than even five years ago.

“Someone once said to me, ‘The best treatment is the one in front of you.’ Do I think that there may be better treatments in 10 years? That is a possibility. But right now, we have a treatment that could be life changing for many of these kids.”

“It’s important to believe the science—to believe there is not fantastical hope, but meaningful hope. If Eliot is any poster child, gene therapy has been a game changer for him.”

Learn more about gene therapy at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.

— Story and photos courtesy Children’s Hospital Los Angeles

How You Can Help

Refer your friends, neighbors, associates, or family members considering making a move: www.ReferralsHelpKids.com or call Corey at 213-880-9910

Copyright © This free information provided courtesy L.A. Loft Blog with information provided by Corey Chambers, Broker, DRE 01889449. We are not associated with the seller, homeowner’s association or developer. For more information, contact 213-880-9910 or visit LALoftBlog.com Licensed in California. All information provided is deemed reliable but is not guaranteed and should be independently verified. Properties subject to prior sale or rental. This is not a solicitation if buyer or seller is already under contract with another broker.