RARE LAND

On a beautiful summer day, Alexandros and his brother bike along a pier in a remote seaside village in Greece. As he bikes precariously close to the edge, Alexandros feels a strange dizziness and tumbles into the sea.

He has felt this way before but it is becoming more frequent. His parents take him to one doctor after another to find out what is happening to their son. They feel frustrated and helpless. Then one day an American doctor practicing in Greece diagnoses his condition – Alexandros has a rare disease, Alpha Mannosidosis.

The family is devastated. Why him? Maria, his mother sits silently guarding the ancient statues in Delphi but her mind races, feeling upset and angry. His father Antonis, a manual labourer, struggles to maintain some sense of normalcy for the family.

The doctor finds an innovative new medication to help the child but the cost is prohibitive. It seems like an insurmountable obstacle. He pleads with the local hospital to get the rare medication for the first time in Greece.

As Alexandros continues to deteriorate, losing motor functions, the mother hides him away in their garden, unable to cope with her sick child. Will Alexandros ever receive the medication he needs? Is it worth spending the money to save this one child?

A rare disease is like a rare land....