SHERMAN, TX – 14-year-old Trey McDonald was born intelectually disabled, and developed a mitochondrial disorder three years ago. It attacked his ability to walk and move, and doctors don’t even know exactly what they’re fighting—It’s so rare, they haven’t been able to diagnose it. Sunday, News 12 sat down with the McDonald family, after Chive Charities recently helped them pay for medical equipment, family therapy, and more testing to hopefully reach a diagnosis.
“If he’s not going to walk again, that’s fine. We just need to know,” said Trey’s father, Billy McDonald. The McDonald family says waiting is the hardest part of battling a disorder doctors haven’t been able to diagnose.
“We’re just hoping that the waiting will pay off,” said Crystal McDonald, Trey’s mother. Three years ago, 14-year-old Trey McDonald developed a rare movement disorder. It’s affected his ability to do every day things, like standing up and walking.
His Dad says test after test has come back negative, and they’re now waiting on the results of one last genetic test, paid for by Chive Charities. “It’s hard to describe how much it’s helped us,” said Billy, speaking of the Chive Charities grant. In addition to the test, Chive Charities purchased a new van for doctor trips to Houston, a shower wheelchair, the installation of Trey’s pool lift, and some family counseling.
While Trey and his family love all of the gifts, the last gift Trey received was priceless.
Billy told Chive Charities how much Trey loves WWE superstar John Cena. The organization reached out to Cena. and he sent a WWE care package, along with a special video message for Trey. In the video Cena says, “Trey, how you doin’ this is WWE superstar John Cena, my good friends at the Chive told me you were a huge WWE fan, so I wanted to do my part to make sure you got a few special gifts, personally, from me.”
Click here to watch the video: http://www.kxii.com/news/headlines/Sherman-teen-battling-rare-disorder-gets-a-message-from-his-hero-264174191.html
“When he first saw it on the screen, he just saw John Cena which he sees on the screen all the time, so that wasn’t the big thing, but when he heard him say his name, that’s when the shock and the excitement came on his face of just seeing ‘hey wait he’s actually talking to me,’ ” said Trey’s mom, Crystal.
John Cena’s motto is “Never give up.” Trey’s mom says he watches the video a few times every week, and as the McDonald family waits for answers, none of them are giving up.
The McDonald family is still waiting on results from the last test, and hopefully those will lead to a diagnosis.
To help Trey, you can visit his GoFundMe account here: http://www.gofundme.com/6z0zlk