Dream Team Surprises Teen Who Is Losing Sight With Dream Day at Lagoon
17-year-old Dylan Affleck was recently forced to quit football at his high school due to a degenerative eye disease known as Retinitis Pigmentosa. The condition has greatly diminished his night and peripheral vision, making it hard for him to catch a football in many of the games. Dylan’s grandfather has the same condition and is completely blind.
While Dylan doesn’t complain or even mention his vision much, his friends and family know that dealing with such a serious condition at such a young age leaves him feeling down in the dumps. However, Dylan was lucky enough to qualify for a ground-breaking stem cell research project that is seeing great results and returning vision to some of its participants.
Though Dylan’s family was thrilled to hear he qualified, the program also comes along with a steep price tag. The cost for Dylan to undergo the procedure would cost his family over $20,000 none of which insurance would cover. To make matters more difficult, Dylan’s mother is the sole provider for the family. She quickly realized that she would not have the money necessary to get Dylan the procedure.
However, her neighbors quickly came to her aid, managing to raise $11,000 through fundraising. Even though they came close to hitting their goal, they still needed a bit of help – that’s where the Mountain America Dream Team stepped in.
The team enlisted the help of local police officer Giancarlo Candiotti, who pulled over the vehicle Dylan was riding in just as it cruised out of the high school parking lot. The officer informed the six teens in the vehicle that they would all be getting tickets – to Lagoon! With their very own police escort, they arrived at the park and discovered that they had the whole place to themselves.
After riding Cannibal, the Dream Team, along with Dylan’s family and friends, were waiting for him when he got off the ride. They surprised Dylan with the additional money he will need for his treatment. Dylan’s grandfather was brought to tears knowing Dylan would have an opportunity that no one else in their family had ever had – the possibility of keeping his eyesight.
Mountain America is proud to partner with Fox 13 News to make dreams come true for members of our community! You can nominate a deserving person or family for the Dream Team by filling out the form here.
