Boy’s ‘Chocolate Bar’ Book Raises $1M

December 19, 2014

Suffering from a rare liver disorder, 9 year old Jonah undergoes treatments every few hours. The disease, GSD Type 1b, affects only 500 children worldwide.

GSD Type 1b affects literally one in a million, and is an incurable genetic condition. Those born with the disease lack the appropriate liver enzyme required to turn glycogen into glucose. This means they cannot properly regulate their blood sugar levels.

The only known treatment currently is a mixture of cornstarch and water, to be consumed every few hours, which helps maintain blood sugar levels. Those with GSD Type 1b also have low white blood cell counts, meaning even minor infections can land them in the hospital for weeks.

His mother and father set alarms for all hours of the day and night to be sure Jonah is fed through a tube that goes directly into his stomach. Without it, he could die.

Luckily for Jonah, he has a best friend to be there by his side and care for him. Dylan, 8 years old, wrote a book on behalf of his best friend, and titled it “Chocolate Bar” in the fall of 2012 when he was just 6 years old. (If you have been around a while you may remember that we published a previous post about Dylan.)

Dylan reported to ABC news that his friendship with Jonah was “as good as a chocolate bar”. All proceeds of the book, which is sold for $20, goes directly to the University of Florida lab where Dr. David Weinstein leads a research team hoping to find a cure for Jonah, and those like him. The book, selling world-wide and translated into many different languages, has hit one million dollars in proceeds this week.

The boys began selling the book at school, along with custom wrapped chocolate bars (donated by Whole Foods Market), making over $5,000 in just hours. Then, the Barnes and Noble bookstore invited Dylan and best friend Jonah to hold a book reading and signing, which attracted attention from local media.

Since then, the two boys have appeared on CBS’ The Doctors, Headline News’ Raising America, Fox News’ Fox & Friends, The Today Show in Australia, an interview with Chelsea Clinton for NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams, and ABC World News with Diane Sawyer, according to their very own ‘Chocolate Bar’ book website.

Dylan has vowed not to stop raising money until there is a cure.

On the official ‘Chocolate Bar’ website, it states “While trying to cure GSD Type 1b, we also hope to show children of all ages that they have power and their actions can change the world.”

You’ve got the power – Chocolate can help.

Here's a video from ABC News.

Boy’s ‘Chocolate Bar’ Book Raises $1M

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