Victoria family raises money for toddler with Cerebral Palsy: 'We'll keep fighting'
Toddler approved for exclusive stem cell therapy
Luca Lisson was diagnosed with a severe brain bleed and Cerebral Palsy when he was born at just 27 weeks old. His family has since kept fighting for him, having been recently accepted into an exclusive clinical trial for stem cell therapy. FOX 9?s Mary McGuire has the details.
VICTORIA, Minn. (FOX 9) - A couple from Victoria, Minnesota, are fighting to give their son a brighter future with the help of a clinical trial at Duke University.
Luca's Story
What we know:
Born at 27 weeks with his identical twin brother, 2-year-old Luca Lisson was diagnosed with a severe brain bleed and Cerebral Palsy, spending four months in the NICU. Doctors prepared his parents for the worst, warning he may never speak, see, hear, or move.
"Luca continued to prove all of his doctors and everybody wrong that he was going to defy those odds," said Andrew Lisson, Luca's dad.
Taking care of a child with special needs is hard work, but his family has made fighting to give him every possible opportunity their full-time job, taking him to physical therapy and doctor's appointments multiple times a week.
His short life has been full of challenges, but Luca recently received a big ray of hope. He was accepted into an exclusive clinical trial at Duke University, where he will get stem cell therapy to repair brain damage and inflammation. The treatment is not covered by insurance and will cost $35,000.
Andrew is a firefighter and mom Brianna is a nurse, so the couple are used to being the helpers, not asking for help themselves.
"We are supposed to be out there advocating for our patients and the last thing we want to do is ask for help," said Brianna.
But this is an incredible opportunity, so the couple will do whatever they can to make it happen.
"We still feel that strong urge to keep pushing and keep fighting for him," said Andrew.
What you can do:
The couple have established a GoFundMe to help cover the cost of the clinical trial.
They are also raising money through a t-shirt and sticker fundraiser.