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South Carolina Alpha, 11, collects toys for sick kids
IndependentMail.com
ANDERSON, SC—Isaac Clary knows what its like to spend Christmas in a hospital. And he wants to brighten the days of children who will go through what he did.
This year, for the third consecutive year, the 11-year-old fifth-grader at Powdersville Elementary School is collecting toys to provide to children in Children’s Hospital at the Greenville Hospital System and the Bi-Lo Charities Children’s Cancer Center in Greenville. In 2006 the toy drive was based in Cincinnati, where Isaac was at that time. The goal is to brighten up childrens’ Christmas in the hospital.
He collects the toys because of his experiences.
When he was 6 weeks old, Isaac was diagnosed with alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency. The disease, which affects the liver and lungs, caused him to develop cirrhosis of the liver by the time he turned 3. A liver transplant just before his fourth birthday saved his life, said his mother, Melissa Clary.
