NBC's Richard Engel Shares Heartbreaking Reaction to New Medical Breakthrough That Could Potentially Have Saved His Son

Richard Engel candidly shared his emotions astir a caller aesculapian breakthrough.

After reference a New York Times study astir a babe being healed from a uncommon familial upset pinch nan first-ever personalized gene-editing treatment, nan NBC News main overseas correspondent, 51, penned an affectional individual effort astir really nan caller aesculapian breakthrough could person perchance saved his boy Henry's life, who died successful 2022 aft being diagnosed pinch Rett Syndrome.

"I wished I could person surgery nan communicative pinch Henry arsenic diligent zero," he wrote successful nan effort published connected TODAY. "I had imagined nan roll-out too, coming back on nan group of TODAY pinch Henry and his mother Mary, who has written astir Henry’s life and losing him for TODAY.com."

"We’d beryllium pinch Savanah Guthrie, who has been supporting ongoing investigation utilizing Henry’s cells, and talk — cautiously, hopefully and thankfully — astir nan advancement we were seeing," continued Engel. "I allowed myself to ideate saying that Henry was starting to speak. He had been awakened, cured and reborn. There wouldn’t beryllium a barren oculus successful nan studio."

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"I ne'er sewage to do that communicative astir Henry. Sometimes our timelines don’t overlap pinch technological progress. They seldom do," he wrote. "Mary and I are afloat of thing but joyousness that from now on, truthful galore different families will beryllium capable to constitute caller and awesome stories of their own."

The journalist first announced pinch a station on X in August 2022 that his 6-year-old boy had died aft a years-long conflict pinch Rett Syndrome, a uncommon familial neurological upset that leads to terrible beingness and cognitive impairments and has nary cure, according to nan Mayo Clinic.

Henry, whom Richard shares pinch his woman Mary, died connected Aug. 9, according to a memorial page connected the Texas Children's Hospital website.

"Our beloved boy Henry passed away. He had nan softest bluish eyes, an easy grin and a contagious giggle. We ever surrounded him pinch emotion and he returned it, and truthful overmuch more," Engel wrote, earlier giving different update successful a follow-up post, "Researchers are making astonishing advancement utilizing Henry's cells to thief cure Rett Syndrome truthful others don't person to strengthen this unspeakable disease."

Henry was first diagnosed with nan upset successful 2017. Engel said to PEOPLE successful January 2018 about his son's diagnosis, noting astatine nan clip that his boy was "probably not going to walk, astir apt not going to speak, astir apt not going to person immoderate intelligence capacity beyond nan level of a 2-year-old."

Months later, successful October 2018, nan journalist opened up in a candid effort for Today about his family's harrowing travel and his son's condition.

At nan time, Engel said it was getting "increasingly difficult" to thief Henry support progressive "because of basal physics," arsenic nan parents had to move their boy perpetually to thief support him engaged successful his surroundings — thing that led Engel's woman Mary to commencement "working retired for illustration mad" to support up pinch nan beingness demands of parenting.

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In August 2019, Engel and his woman welcomed different small boy, son Theodore, into their family and said pinch PEOPLE astir the adjustment astatine home.

Engel said that it would beryllium "difficult" to watch babe Theo walk their boy Henry, 3 astatine nan time, pinch definite developmental milestones.

"We cognize why location is this differential. And it's going to beryllium difficult to watch Theo walk his older relative successful position of capabilities," he said. "That's going to beryllium very difficult for america to see. To spot a 1-month-old very soon overcoming his almost-4-year-old relative … that's going to beryllium tough."