Baby Giovanni

Special Report: Baby Giovanni

Posted: 01/18/07

"When you see a baby of that age, they deserve to get a chance at life," Ray Tye, of the Ray Tye Medical Foundation, said. "And if money can help them get there, then that is what it's for."

Ray and his wife Eileen, who lost their own son to cancer, will pay all of the baby's medical bills that are not covered by insurance. They have helped improve the lives of hundreds of children through their non-profit foundation and they hope Giovanni will be one more.

"Thank you from the bottom of my heart from my entire family and specifically for helping to save Giovanni," Michael Guglielmo, Giovanni’s father, said.

Michael says his son still needs help though, from a bone marrow donor. The odds are low, about one in 20,000 people could be a match.

But today, dozens came to a bone marrow drive at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in hopes they could be Giovanni's second chance.

"It just kinda broke my heart when I saw it on the news, so I thought I'd come down and see if I was a match," Michelle Reedenaur, a potential bone marrow donor, said.

"It's really a small part on my behalf," Michelle Belanger said. "And you know, if I could save someone's life, that's an incredible impact."

"I'm just moved beyond words," Guglielmo said. "There's no way to articulate it. All of these people have rallied for Giovanni's cause and they're here to save his life and that's a wonderful thing."

Doctors say the best chance of finding a bone marrow match for Giovanni would be from someone of Greek or Italian descent.

(Copyright (c) 2007 Sunbeam Television and The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

Segment Information

Reported by:

Frances Rivera

Producer:

Laura Stebbins

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