Valley residents responded in a big way to the story of 14 month-old Kevin Verch, who was diagnosed at the turn of the year with Spinal Muscular Atrophy, or SMA, a condition which left him at risk of becoming paralysed by the time he turned two years old.
Grandma Jessica Verch says over 90 thousand dollars was collected through a GoFundMe page in a short time.
The GoFundMe goal of 2.8 million dollars included a calculation for a miracle drug, zolgenzma.
As Lil’ Kev is a member of the Algonquins of Pikwakanagan, Grandma Jessica, and the other members of Lil’ Kev’s Warriors, Dana and Joanne Pearce and Alexandra Short are grateful for organizational support from the First Nation.
Jessica says an application for funding to cover the cost of zolgenzma treatments has been successful.
Kevin now has a fighting chance at a normal life, and the family is in dialogue with gofundme in an effort to return the money pledged through the fundraising initiative.


