Local Garage/Bake Sale to Raise Funds for 'Carson's Cause'

A garage and bake sale will be held on July 13 and 14 in Sun City to raise funds for a 6-month-old's Kawasaki's Disease treatment and medical bills.

The fundraiser will be held from  8 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 26240 Unitas Ct., Sun City, CA 92585.

Menifee residents Gina and Michael O'Neil's son Carson was diagnosed with Kawasaki's Disease on May 18, 2013 when he was only 3 months old. The disease is a rare condition in children that causes blood vessels to become inflammed.

Because KD is such a rare disease, Carson was first diagnosed with symptoms of allergies and was given steroids and antibiotics. His KD symptoms only got worse from there.

Through his parents' own research, it was discovered Carson had symptoms in line with KD.

Although Carson's pediatrician and other doctors disregarded his parents' claims of KD, Rady Children's Hospital in San Diego finally ran tests and diagnosed Carson with the disease.

Unfortunately, the late diagnosis led to permanent damage to Carson's heart.

Carson now has two large anuerysms inside the arteries of his heart. For treatment, Carson requires blood thinning injections twice a day along with four other daily medications.

His mother says she has received support from her close family and friends, but hopes to see more support for Carson as more become aware of his condition.

"He fought to get here. We had our issues with him getting here. It took five miscarriages and he was number six," said Gina. "He an amazing fighter and he's not going to give up. He's going to keep fighting this battle. We have a long, long, long road ahead of us."

That long road is presenting financial hardships on Gina and Michael. Although they both work full time, Carson's treatment and medical bills are piling up.

KD does not allow Carson to receive immunizations he needs to be around other children, so he will no longer be able to go to daycare. This means Gina will soon have to quit her job to care for Carson full time, only increasing their financial hardship.

Gina's sister April Patterson has set up a donation page to help with medical expenses, called "Carson's Cause." The fundraising website aims for a goal of $10,000 in donations.

Gina and Michael are also collecting used shoes any style or size to be donated to needy families around the world. For every pound of shoes they collect, Carson's Cause receives 40 cents and Cash4Shooz ensures the shoes go to a third world country in need of shoes.

For those who would like to donate used shoes for Carson's Cause, they can be left on the door step of 26426 Baldy Peak Dr., Sun City 92586.

Gina encourages other parents to follow their instincts and to do their own research despite what doctors say. She said it is important to keep fighting just as Carson has continued to fight.

"Not only do we need help financially, but we want to spread awareness so that this doesn't happen to anyone else's kid," said Gina. "This shouldn't have happened to [Carson] and if the doctors were just more aware, this would not have happened. We just find it so disgusting that it did and it shouldn't happen to anyone else."

According to the garage and bake sale event website, family and friends are looking for volunteers and donations for the garage sale, as well as those willing to bake goods to sell.

For more information on the garage/bake sale, click here.