By Brendan Rees
A teen with an incurable condition is off to America this month to meet his comic book idols thanks to the support of the Casey community.
Fitness coach Stuart Cunningham of CrossFit Cranbourne spearheaded a GoFundMe fundraiser for Tyson Stanley, 17, as he “deserves to go to the greatest pop culture convention in the world.”
With the community’s help, $25000 was raised for Tyson so he can attend Comic Con – an event that draws thousands of comic book, science-fiction, and fantasy lovers in San Diego, California on 19-22 July.
Tyson has Fibrodysplasia ossificans progressive, an extremely rare connective tissue disease.
Simply put, his muscle tissue and connective tissue such as tendons and ligaments are slowly being replaced by bone. It affects one in two million people.
The funds will cover flights, accommodation, food, Comic Con tickets, spending money and “Everything he needs to have an epic adventure.”
“Rather than raising money to help fund cures, because that’s already happening, I wanted to do something purely for him,” Mr Cunningham said.
“He’s pretty restricted with the choices he’s got – he relies heavily on other people to help.”
Mr Cunningham completed four gruelling days of fitness challenges from May 24-27 including a 7km swim at Mornington bay, a 300km on an Assault Air Bike, eight hours of CrossFit training, and a 51km run at Lyrebird Track in the Dandenong Ranges to help raise money.
“All the money was intended to go towards him to have an incredible experience and adventure in the States,” he said.
For the past seven years, Tyson has been training with Mr Cunningham and the pair have developed a “power friendship.”
“He is tough as nails and rarely shows any frustration with his condition, Mr Cunningham explained on the GoFundMe page.
“But I know deep down it would be hard. He is incredibly intelligent, loves to read, loves the footy and his Bulldogs, and is a mad Pop Culture fiend. From Marvel to DC, Walking Dead to Game of Thrones, Harry Potter to Rick and Morty, Tys knows about it all and loves it.”
Anyone wishing to donate can visit: https://au.gofundme.com/operationtyson.
