Emily and Jamie Williams contacted Jeff’s office in late May 2018, after their young daughter, Grace, had been diagnosed with DIPG, an aggressive and terminal brain cancer.
However, earlier in the spring of 2018, Grace had been accepted into a potentially life-saving clinical trial at the University of California-San Francisco (UCSF), scheduled to have begun at the end of May. But with only a few days remaining before the trial was scheduled to start, the drug used in the clinical trial was impounded on the way to UCFS and transferred to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)—a standard protocol, but one that threatened Grace’s life. If the clinical trial wasn’t able to start on time, it would be several weeks, or even months before the family could re-apply to be a part of the next trial. Given the diagnosis, it seemed unlikely that Grace would live to see the next trial.
Jeff’s office immediately contacted the FDA with an inquiry about the status of USCF’s request for the shipment. Jeff’s office wanted to make sure that UCSF had applied for one of several exemptions which could help expedite the shipment for the clinical trial. Less than six hours after the initial inquiry to the FDA, Jeff’s office received word that the FDA released the hold on the crucial drug, just in time for the clinical trial to begin on schedule for the Williams and their daughter.
Thanks to quick work from Jeff’s office, Grace survived and is continuing to undergo treatment for her brain tumor.
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