When Alexis Cuccaro was 3 years old, her parents noticed something wrong with her vision. Doctors discovered Alexis has leber congenital amaurosis (LCA), a degenerative eye disorder that primarily affects the retina, causing visual impairment. Now 13, Alexis is almost completely blind.
Alexis’ dad, David Cuccaro, is the service manager at LeisureTime Warehouse in Wickliffe, Ohio. He told the owner, Ted Dellas, about Alexis’ condition. “Being a father of four, I felt his pain when he was telling me about her issues,” Dellas says. “It was emotional.”
Dellas set up a GoFundMe to raise funds for Alexis to get a seeing-eye dog, which Cuccaro says is critical for Alexis. LeisureTime Warehouse committed $1,000 to the fundraiser, and Master Spas also donated $2,500. Over $6,000 was raised in three months.
Dellas allows Cuccaro a flexible schedule so he can help care for Alexis. Alexis is training with her new dog, Lucky, so she can move forward as quickly as possible, Cuccaro says: “This means a lot. Our family appreciates what Ted did and all the nice folks who contributed.”
