U.S. Parents Seek Treatment for Son with Same Condition as Charlie Gard

Lisa Bourne : Aug 3, 2017
LifeSiteNews.com

"It's really hard to be told that your child's chances of even making it to 2 are like 50 percent. I don't want to say that we've come to terms with it. We love him more than anything in the world." -Michelle Budnick-Nap

(Texas Township, MI)—[LifeSiteNews] The parents of a four-month-old Michigan boy with the same rare condition as Charlie Gard say they want to fight for their child to live. (Photo: Russell Cruzan III with his parents/Wood TV/via LifeSiteNews.com)

Russell Cruzan III's parents are fighting to get their son treatment that could save his life, WoodTV-8 reported, despite a grim prognosis from doctors.

"‘We know the seriousness of this diagnosis. We know what the prognosis is," his mother, Michelle Budnick-Nap, recounted doctors telling her. "Do you want to keep fighting or do you want to give up and let nature take its course?'"

"Which is a really, really hard thing to hear," Budnick-Nap said. "But I always tell them ... we want to do everything we can. We want to fight.'"

She and her husband hope to get Russell treated by a Boston Children's Hospital doctor who is one of the top specialists in Russell's condition. The physician has agreed to treat their son, but the family faces challenges with insurance covering the treatment.

They hope for a good outcome, whatever that might mean.

"If anything, if they can't save him or whatever, maybe he can be used to save kids in the future," Russell Cruzan II said.

Baby Russell has Mitochondrial DNA depletion syndrome 13, a form of the same syndrome that afflicted...

Continue reading here.