Hope For Hannah: Bucks County Family Asks Phillies Fans To Wear Blue In Honor Of Their Ailing Daughter
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – A local family with a child fighting a deadly disease asked Phillies' fans to do one thing at Friday night's game: Wear blue.
In turn, the Phillies and their fans showed their support for the two-year-old in a very special way.
The request is in honor of Hannah Ginion, a two-year-old from Bucks County. Hannah has Krabbe disease, a rare, degenerative disorder.
While Hannah can't talk or move, she's a beloved member of the family, her mother, Vicki Pizzullo, told Eyewitness News in an interview earlier this month.
On Friday, Hannah's parents attended the Phillies game against the Atlanta Braves, and they wanted the fans to wear blue to show support for their daughter and raise awareness. Their hopes were for Hannah to also attend the game.
Hannah now has her first autographed Phillies hat and a poster signed by Cody Asche and Carlos Ruiz -- all thanks to a total stranger who wanted to do something special for her family anonymously. And he is not the only one.
"The words, the presents, you know I come home from work and there is a different present on my porch every day," Hannah's father Justin Ginion said.
"We don't smile every day. We try, but it's hard. Going down there and getting autographs for Hannah, it was amazing," Hannah's mother Vicki Pizzullo said.
Vicki, Hannah's mom, is lobbying Harrisburg to pass Hannah's law which would test infants for Krabbe as part of their heal prick so they can get early treatment.
She started the Facebook page Hope For Hannah a year ago which now has more than 62,000 followers.
"They pray and they say don't give up hope," she said.
"Our daughter is a hero because she's going to save lives," Hannah's father said.
It was one of those followers that reach out to the Phillies with Hannah's story. While Hannah couldn't make it, her parents were treated to a tour of the ball park and a meet and greet with the players.
Hope for Hannah has taken off on social media – in fact, many wore navy at the ball park Friday to show their support for the cause. Hannah's mom says with every navy shirt and every like on Facebook, they are one step closer to seeing Hannah's law pass.
Hannah's parents continue to push for Pennsylvania House Bill 1654, known as Hannah's law, which would mandate the screening for Krabbe be included in the newborn check.
"Hannah's life couldn't be saved, but we could save other lives from this," said Vicki.
Krabbe Disease Information: ghr.nlm.nih.gov/condition/krabbe-disease
Hunter's Hope Foundation: www.huntershope.org/site/PageServer
Hope For Hannah: https://www.facebook.com/hopeforhannahbear
CBS 3 Eyewitness News reporter Diana Rocco contributed to this report.
