Thieves nab vital medical supplies from city tot
A pair of women, who likely assumed they were stealing Christmas presents instead, walked away from a family’s front porch with medical packages delivered to keep a two-year-old boy as healthy and comfortable as possible.
Crystal Leptich’s son Leo, 2, was diagnosed at birth with the painful, rare, incurable genetic condition called Epidermolysis Bullosa (EB). The proteins that anchor the outer layer of skin to the layer underneath are missing, causing the upper layer of his fragile skin to blister and peel off with virtually any amount of friction.
“He’s an absolute light of our lives and brings us more joy than we could ever imagine,” Leptich said.
Caring for Leo requires a daily regimen of checking for wounds and plenty of specialized bandages. Seven boxes of the bandages were stolen from the Leptich’s porch.
Security footage from the Leptich’s doorbell cam shows two women walking up in broad daylight and loading an armload of boxes each into a vehicle on the street.
Leptich said she and her husband Adam felt “shock and dismay” at the thought of thieves discovering that their haul was likely worthless and simply throwing the bandages away.
“They are essentially useless to them,” Leptich said in an interview with the Starphoenix. “But they’re crucial to us.”
In the year since the Leptichs went public about their son’s condition, the province agreed to pay for Leo’s medical supplies. A month’s supply of the specialized bandages Leo needs cost about $10,000.
Leptich said she was thankful the family wouldn’t be on the hook for the costly items, but said the bandages are such a rare commodity that there could be supply issues getting replacements.
“It’s just another stress,” she said of the theft.
She said the local supplier who gets them the bandages reached out after her husband posted on Facebook about the theft.
Leptich said the outpouring of well-wishes and offers of help since the post went up has helped take some of the sting out of the theft.
“Every time we face a struggle, we get reminded of how supported we are in our community.”
For now, the Leptichs have a few more days’ worth of bandages. If they do run out, Leptich said she and Adam will do what they’ve always done: find a way to make do.
“We’ve been resourceful since Day 1.”
Last month, in their ongoing efforts to raise awareness and knowledge of EB, Crystal and Adam posted a video to their Facebook page — Brave Little Lion: Leo’s Life With EB — of Leo playing in leaves for the first time. In the post, Crystal said she shared the video to show “the joy on Leo’s face, and to show that he can pretty much do everything” that any other child can, but also to show “what cost this type of simple childhood fun can come at for a child with EB, like Leo.”
She followed the video with a still image of Leo crying, his skin torn open on his forehead, his nose scraped up and his hand wrapped — all from rolling around in some leaves in the fall.
“Just being a kid shouldn’t have to cause painful wounds and tears,” Crystal wrote.