Pinoy stars come together to help Bunny Paras' daughter

CALIFORNIA - A former Philippine television and movie star is doing everything she can to spread awareness and help find a cure for her daughter's serious illness.

Zsa Zsa Padilla, Judy Ann Santos, Aiza Seguerra, are just a few of the many celebrities calling on their fans to support a cause that can save the life of the daughter of Bunny Paras.

Paras reached out to her friends in the entertainment world when she was thinking of a way to have more people help in finding a cure for her daughter Moira, who has Friedreich's Ataxia, a debilitating, life-shortening and degenerative neuro-muscular disorder.

Less than a year ago, Moira, Paras' 16-year-old daughter with television and radio personality Mo Twister, could still walk without assistance.

These days, because of the quick progression of her illness, she uses a walker.

"School's hard. But I have a lot of support from my friends and my teachers and if something goes wrong, they won't hesitate to help me so I can get through my day," Moira said.

Sadly, there's still no cure for her illness although there are promising drug trials.

Next year, she's going to college and says that she wants to have a career in the science field to help other sick people.

"I want a cure. I just want a cure," she said.

Moira started showing symptoms, like losing her balance, when she was 7-years old.

Despite the challenges, Moira is a smart student who's graduating high school two years in advance.

She said she's lucky to have the support of her parents.

Paras' husband, Tom Greenway, whom she married in 2009, has adopted Moira and takes care of her medical needs.

"I met my husband and he had more knowledge on what to do. Sabi nya, let's get a specialist. So Tom was really my lifesaver for Moira, because we just started in the US, just me and her," she said.

Paras remains optimistic but admits there are days when thinking about what could happen to Moira gets to her.

"Just to get to the couch, she had to crawl. Malungkot. We went to registration sa school, we wanna sign up for her prom na gagawin ng mga seniors. We always have to think twice. Kaya mo ba? We'll go with you," she said.

When the disease progresses, Ataxia affect body, speech, and eye movements and can lead to serious heart conditions.

The Greenway family is fundraising for and going to the National Ataxia Foundation's Walk 'n' Roll. The annual event aims to spread awareness and raise money to fund expensive clinical research that is looking for the miracle cure that the family hope will let Moira live a long and productive life.

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