Seven-month-old Casen Buswell is one of just 14 people in the world who’s fighting a rare breathing disease and his parents are struggling to pay for potential lifesaving treatments.
The Washington baby suffers from glomuvenous malformations plaque type, a vascular disease that hardens his blood vessels, skin and muscles and can lead to heart failure if it isn’t treated properly, Sky Valley Chronicle reports. The community has come together to raise a significant amount of funding, but the family still needs more to pay to travel to, and maybe even to move to, Belgium where Casen can get the best medical treatment for his condition.
“Our doctors in Belgium are the only doctors we've seen who have been able to give us a clearer picture about what we need to do to treat him," Casen’s mom, Jenna, told ABCNews.com. "We're struggling with how are we going to provide that for him."
To help the Baswells, Jenna works as a special education teacher, and her husband, C.J., is a contract administrator at a construction company, a number of do-gooders in the area have come forward to raise funds.
Ron Cook, a drag racer in the Monroe area, decided to raffle off his cherished 1957 Chevy Bel Air to raise money for Casen, which pulled in more than $10,000. But in a surprise twist of goodwill, the winner -- Della Philip –- decided to donate the car back for a second raffle, a move that bumped up the auction total to $31,000 for the Buswell family, according to the Sky Valley Chronicle.
The family has also set up a fund in an effort to raise $50,000 for their baby.
"You can't put any - there's no price tag to it," Jenna Buswell told komonews.com. "It's just amazing to feel the love and to know that Casen has so much support."
Feeling inspired? Donate to Casan Buswell's fund here.
Click through the slideshow below to see more photos of Casen.
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