A local baby needs help with getting life-saving treatment in the United States, which is not funded by the Canadian government.
Aryan Deol was born two-and-a-half months premature on August 7, 2019. Aryans mother, Harpreet, started noticing decreased movement in Aryan in early January 2020. He was taken to Surrey Memorial Hospital where they transferred him to the B.C. Children's Hospital in Vancouver to run further tests. Aryan was Diagnosed with Type 1 Spinal Muscular Atrophy - a rare and often fatal muscle-wasting disease, soon after.
Recently, Vancouver Is Awesome ran a story about a Vancouver couple that launched a petition to get their baby daughter access to a life-saving medication for SMA with a staggering $3-million price tag. So far, they have raised nearly $2-million to get her treatment with a gofundme campaign.
Now, a gofundme has been launched for baby Aryan to get access to the same life-saving drug.
"Aryan is an adorable, loveable, sweet and charming baby who is loved dearly by his friends and family. He came into our lives as a ray of sunshine. In just 6 months he has made our lives so much more meaningful and purposeful and we could not imagine life without him," write the gofundme organizers.
"Aryan loves having his diaper off, his head rubbed and loves doing the bicycle with mom and dad! We would all love for Aryan to live a long, healthy and happy life and we are ready to do anything it takes to make sure he receives the best medical care possible."
The life-saving treatment - a drug called Zolgensma - has not been approved in Canada. It was approved for use in the U.S. last year, but a single injection costs $2.8 million, making it one of the most expensive drugs in the world.
For more information about the gofundme, visit HERE.
