PHOENIX — For 25 years, a dedicated group of volunteers known as PANDA—People Acting Now Discover Answers—has been working tirelessly in Arizona to fund life-changing medical research for children.
Their efforts have helped a countless number of young people, including 14-year-old Paxton Spiegel.
ABC15 met with Paxton and his mother, Nicole Vasquez, to learn more about their journey and how PANDA has made a lasting impact on their lives.
Paxton, who is full of energy and confidence, embraces his uniqueness.
"I mean, me personally, I like having autism. It makes me very special," said Paxton.
One of his biggest dreams? Becoming a meteorologist.
His admiration for ABC15’s Jorge Torres is clear, and he can even recite the meteorologist’s signature introduction.
“It’s Jorge Torres on ABC15. Here is your Most Accurate Forecast!” said Paxton.
Paxton’s journey hasn’t been easy. At just six weeks old, he was diagnosed with Nystagmus, a condition that causes his eyes to sometimes move uncontrollably.
As he grew into his toddler years, Paxton’s family faced additional challenges, including autism, epilepsy, and severe gastrointestinal issues.
“As a parent, it is very overwhelming to deal with all the things, you know?” Vasquez shared, “Every day, you just have to take it and roll with it.”
Hope came when a family friend recommended the Steele Children’s Research Center in Tucson.
Vasquez recalls meeting Dr. Fayez Ghishan and immediately feeling reassured.
“When I went to Dr. Ghishan, I didn’t even question it. He had a plan,” she said.
Nicole also found support from PANDA, a volunteer organization in Arizona dedicated to funding pediatric medical research.
“At Steele, Dr. Ghishan has been able to develop tools and conduct research to predict potential health issues from a single blood sample,” explained Cecelia Herro, who is a member and volunteer with PANDA.
Now in its 25th year, Herro says PANDA has raised $35 million and helped secure $120 million in research grants, supporting groundbreaking advancements in pediatric medicine.
Nicole says the support PANDA provides has been life-changing.
“That’s the great thing about PANDA—it gives you a support system from other families who have gone through what you’re going through. It gives people hope. It has definitely saved our family and our life," she added.
Thanks to ongoing treatment and community support, Paxton is now seizure-free and focused on his dreams of forecasting the weather.
“I feel like I would be good at that job,” said Paxton.
When asked if Jorge Torres should be concerned about some serious job competition, Paxton grinned and replied, “Yeah, he should watch out for me!”
Later this month, Paxton will be one of the featured patient models at PANDA’s Children Helping Children Fashion Show & Luncheon— it’s PANDA’s biggest fundraiser of the year.
The event is a celebration of the incredible journeys, like Paxton’s, made possible through research, treatment, and community support.
To learn more about PANDA and the Children Helping Children event, click here.
