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Family Desperately In Need Of Wheelchair Van For Son Diagnosed With Rare Disease

NEW KENSINGTON (KDKA) -- Travis Tronka is finishing up his senior year at Valley High School in New Kensington. In fact, he just went to his senior prom on Friday.

"Someone just said to me, 'He looks like he's 11.' They asked, 'How old is he?' I said, 'He's 17,'" Roseanne Tronka, Travis' mom, said.

Travis was born with an extremely rare disease called Carbohydrate Dysfunction Glycoprotein Syndrome. He has trouble walking, has low stamina and isn't growing at the rate that he should.

He was diagnosed at the age of 6.

"We're the first two people in our families who have married another carrier," Roseanne said. "When [Travis] was diagnosed, he was number two in the United States and number five in the world."

Because Travis' disease makes it extremely difficult to walk, he uses a wheelchair most of the time and transporting him takes a toll on his parents who are also dealing with medical problems.

"He weighs 60 pounds. My weight limit right now is a gallon of milk," Roseanne said.

Roseanne recently had shoulder surgery and a knee replacement.

Her husband, Jim, has a bad back.

Their son Jesse, 19, is mainly responsible for lifting Travis in and out of the van they own.

"Just roll him right up in his wheelchair, wouldn't have to pick him up and disassemble his wheelchair so it would have to fit in the back of the vehicle," Travis' father, Jim Tronka, said.

The problem, Jesse is in school and working, so he's not always home, and an aid is sometimes hard to come by.

"We'd like to live a better quality of life instead of him being stuck in the house all the time where he doesn't have to be," Jim said.

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Travis isn't the only person vying to win a wheelchair van. Several other people from the Pittsburgh area are in the running, too.

"We got into it a little late. Last year we missed it, so we're trying to get caught up," Roseanne said.

"Please vote for James Tronka so we can win a lift van. Thank you very much," Jim said.

To vote for the Tronka family, visit this link on the National Mobility Awareness Month website.

The contest ends next Tuesday, May 31. You can vote one time per day, per person. You can also vote for other contestants from the Pittsburgh area, too.

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