Chicagoan who invested in research to save children releases new book
Patrick Girondi, who championed the fight to cure Thalassemia, a fatal blood disease that was found in his son, has published a book about the struggle called “Flight of the Rondone: High School dropout VS big Pharma, the fight to save my son’s life.” His important and decades-long struggle to find a Thalassemia cure also helped science in its search for a cure for Sickle Cell Disease.
Flight of the Rondone is a true rags to riches tale the New York Times stated is “meant for television.” The protagonist, a high school dropout, is nicknamed in Italian U Carneveil (Walking Circus) for his entertaining and eccentric nature.
Girondi starts his career shining shoes, stealing car parts, and escaping life-threatening situations while outwitting the Chicago police. He claws up to being a famous success story on the Oprah Show.
His fortunes quickly change when his eldest son, Santino, is diagnosed with a fatal blood disease. Girondi hunts for a cure in a drama that has boundless implications in the world of gene therapy.
As Girondi writes, “I’d been strangled, shot at, skated more than twenty arrests, made it through 3 FBI witch-hunts and went from the docks to trading and big money. I would see my son cured. How hard could it be?”
After decades of struggle, he delivered the world’s first commercial batch of vector with the potential to cure Sickle Cell Disease and Thalassemia. But again, the success of the cure—and the fate of his son—is imperiled, in a world of lab jackets, mysterious deaths, and cut-throat Wall Street banksters.
This is a story of love, beating the odds, or as Girondi calls it, pure luck. It is a gritty and realistic tale told with little regard for empire or etiquette.
Originally from the South Side of Chicago, Girondi is an Italian and American singer-songwriter, author, and founder of San Rocco Therapeutics, a gene therapy company focused on bringing a safe and accessible cure to Sickle Cell Disease and Thalassemia patients. Girondi has released seven music albums and Skyhorse published his Wall Street Journal #1 bestseller Flight of the Rondone. Girondi’s book New City will be published by Skyhorse and distributed by Simon and Schuster on February 14, 2023. Girondi is also the author of Diamond in the Rough.
The CDC describes Thalassemia as an inherited (i.e., passed from parents to children through genes) blood disorder caused when the body doesn’t make enough of a protein called hemoglobin, an important part of red blood cells. When there isn’t enough hemoglobin, the body’s red blood cells don’t function properly and they last shorter periods of time, so there are fewer healthy red blood cells traveling in the bloodstream.
Red blood cells carry oxygen to all the cells of the body. Oxygen is a sort of food that cells use to function. When there are not enough healthy red blood cells, there is also not enough oxygen delivered to all the other cells of the body, which may cause a person to feel tired, weak or short of breath. This is a condition called anemia. People with thalassemia may have mild or severe anemia. Severe anemia can damage organs and lead to death.
Patrick Girondi has received honors and awards and recognition including:
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- One of L.A.’s 100 Most Fascinating People 2022, Best of Los Angeles Award
- Award from Giffoni Film Festival for his music video, It’s Your Time
- Award for Video of the Year, Italy for his song, Living Without You
- International Indie Artist of The Year Award for Orphan’s Journey as voted by the Indie Music Writers Association.
- Induction into the Accademia di Sicilia, Palermo, recognized for artistic and scientific contributions to humanity
- Music featured in the Award-winning Italian film Focaccia Blues
- Award from Scriptapalooza for screenplay Blind Faith
- Front page New York Times Business section feature
#1 Wall Street Journal bestseller!
Flight of the Rondone is a true rags to riches tale the New York Times stated is “meant for television.” The protagonist, a high school dropout, is nicknamed in Italian U Carneveil (Walking Circus) for his entertaining and eccentric nature.
Patrick Girondi starts his career shining shoes, stealing car parts, and escaping life-threatening situations while outwitting the Chicago police. He claws up to being a famous success story on the Oprah Show.
His fortunes quickly change when his eldest son, Santino, is diagnosed with a fatal blood disease. Girondi hunts for a cure in a drama that has boundless implications in the world of gene therapy. As Girondi writes, “I’d been strangled, shot at, skated more than twenty arrests, made it through 3 FBI witch-hunts and went from the docks to trading and big money. I would see my son cured. How hard could it be?” After decades of struggle, he delivered the world’s first commercial batch of vector with the potential to cure Sickle Cell Disease and Thalassemia. But again, the success of the cure—and the fate of his son—is imperiled, in a world of lab jackets, mysterious deaths, and cut-throat Wall Street banksters.
This is a story of love, beating the odds, or as Girondi calls it, pure luck. It is a gritty and realistic tale told with little regard for empire or etiquette.
Hanania also writes about Middle East issues for the Arab News, and The Arab Daily News criticizing government policies in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Hanania was named "Best Ethnic American Columnist" by the New America Media in November 2007, and is the 2009 recipient of the SPJ National Sigma Delta Chi Award for column writing.
Email Ray Hanania at rghanania@gmail.com.
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