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Young Girl's Dying Wish To Make A Movie Is Coming True

By Michelle Durham

CHELTENHAM, Pa. (CBS) - If you were asked what Mitochondrial Disease is, would you know the answer? A Cheltenham teen who passed away in December of 2010 had the genetic disorder, in which the mitochondria of the cell fails to produce enough energy for cell or organ function. So, she wrote a script to a film whose main character has Mito. But, this account is not a "woe is me" type story. It's designed to make you laugh and cry.

Rina Goldberg died at just 15, but in her final days, her mother Stacy says she had one thing on her mind: her movie.

"There came a point close to the end where she didn't have much of a voice. She looked to me. She said, 'you promised.' I told her, 'absolutely.'"

Stacy says she had a vision. "No matter what anyone told her about the realities of life, she saw it in the theaters."

And thanks to The Make a Film Foundation and Oscar-award-winning writer Diablo Cody, who penned the Juno screenplay, Rina's dream is coming true. Her family is hosting an event at Gratz College March 1st to raise money to make the film and to fight mitochondrial disease.

"Rina should be here to enjoy it herself," says her father, Ari. "It's most definitely bittersweet."

To find out more about Rina's film, The Magic Bracelet and to donate money towards the film, go to: MakeAFilmFoundation.org

Rinasmovie.com

To keep updated on all the events of the film and for ticket information for the Benefit on March 1st go to, 'like' The Magic Bracelet's Facebook page.

For more information on Mitochondrial Disease:

UMDF.org

MitoAction.org

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