A St. Louis girl got to realize her dream of owning a bakery for a day, and customers raised enough funds for her to have a treatment that massively increases her quality of life.
Lyla McCarty suffers from a rare condition known as Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS), and it takes a toll on her every day, KMOV reported Sunday.
“I have it in my leg, but it’s where it always hurts, and there’s no cure for it really,” Lyla explained.
There is treatment, but the McCarty’s insurance has rejected paying for it for months, and Heather McCarty, Lyla’s mother, said it was impossible to pay for it out of pocket.
“Lyla has no idea we’re going to surprise her with her own bakery for 24 hours, and we’re gonna try and raise $100,000,” he said in a recent video.
That is what happened Sunday in Florissant, Missouri.
Thanks to help from MADE. By Lia, which is a local bakery shop, Lyla took over and opened her own store where over 5,000 went to show their support.
“This love is real here in St. Louis. St. Louis is different than any city I’ve ever seen, ’cause we do this in every city, but St. Louis is special,” Rocket commented.
The bakery shared photos of the little girl outside the shop underneath a banner that read, “Lyla’s Dream Bakery!”:
Video footage showed the massive line of people at the special event:
At the end of the day, the family was close to their fundraising goal but had not gotten there, so another small business owner stepped in to help by donating $2,000 to make it happen.
The McCarty family said the day’s event gave them the hope they had not felt in a long time.
“Just thank you, ’cause it’s amazing,” Lyla commented.
As of Monday afternoon, a GoFundMe for the little girl had raised $142,660 of its $150,000 goal.