Saturday, October 23, 1999
Township helps boy's quest for lungs
Halloween fest raises funds for 5-year-old
BY KEVIN ALDRIDGE
The Cincinnati Enquirer
DEERFIELD TOWNSHIP — Imagine being a child and never being able to play tag, run around with neighborhood children or even attend school.
Five-year-old Alex Porta doesn't have to imagine.
In many respects, Alex is your average little boy who likes video games, sports and television. But stricken at birth with a chronic lung disease that could be terminal, Alex has had a life anything but childlike.
To help the Portas in their time of need, township trustees are hosting a fund-raiser for Alex Saturday at the new Schappacher Park. A Halloween festival will be held from 2 to 5 p.m. at the park on Old Irwin Simpson Road.
“Alex has had to endure more in the first five years of his life than most people have endured their entire lives,” said Gregory Porta, his father. “He has lived through three operations, been on and off ventilators, had intravenous lines pushed into his arms and gets most of his body nourishment through a feeding tube that was placed into his stomach three months after birth.”
Alex is also bound by a clear plastic tube running from an oxygen tank into a mask around his nose. The mechanism pumps precious, life-sustaining oxygen into Alex's weakened lungs 24 hours a day.
The Portas have consulted with a number of pulmonary specialists from Houstonto St. Louis during the past few years in hopes of finding a cure for their son's illness. All of them say Alex has only one chance for survival; a double lung transplant.
“As parents, my wife, Diane, and I have promised all our kids a certain quality of life,” said Mr. Porta, who also serves as Deerfield Township's zoning inspector. “And if a lung trans plant will achieve that for Alex, for any amount of time, then we will work for as long and hard as it takes to make that happen.”
The fund-raising festival will include a dedication ceremony for the park, a magician, face-painting, pumpkin decorating, bake sale, costume contest and more. All proceeds will go to the Alex Porta Fund to defray the cost of the young boy's medical expenses.
For those unable to attend Saturday's event, donations may be deposited into a special account under Alex's name at any local Fifth Third Bank.
Alex has been on a lung transplant waiting list since September, according to township officials.
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