Incelebration of Rare Disease Day, families from around the world with children diagnosed with a rare genetic mutation potentially linked to autism and Alzheimer's disease, more commonly known as Jordan's Syndrome, connected on Facebook Live to spread their message and stories.

"As a lot of our families have experienced, at the time that we got the first diagnosis, the lab that had done the exome sequencing really said, 'We think you might be the first child in the world,'" said Joe Lang, founder of Jordan's Guardian Angels. "Now, through divine intervention and lots of other things, we are now 54 families strong. As it started to unfold, we started to realize that this is about more than just our children."

The families were joined on Facebook by California State Senator Richard Pan (D-Sacramento), who submitted Senate Resolution 109 today with California State Assemblymember Rob Bonta (D-Oakland) to commemorate Rare Disease Day and highlight Jordan's Syndrome, a mutation in gene PPP2R5D.

"I have submitted a resolution recognizing today as Rare Disease Day, co-authored by a colleague of mine in the State Assembly, Rob Bonta," said Senator Pan. "Our investment in rare disease really has benefits for all of us. Certainly, on one level, it's about recognizing the importance of rare diseases and the families that struggle with them, but it's also recognizing that we all have a stake, together, in children and people with rare diseases, and that the research that is going into this isn't just benefiting those individual families - it's benefiting all of us."