Thousands Raised As Philly Area's Sweet Baby James Fights Disease

SOUTHEASTERN PA — A Philadelphia area baby fighting a deadly disease has rallied the community around him, with hundreds of donors raising tens of thousands of dollars to support his mounting medical bills.

"Sweet Baby James," also known as the Warrior Kid, was born James Griffin to a family with ties throughout the Philadelphia area last October. He has end stage renal disease, which means his kidneys function at about 10 percent of what's normal; failure is considered less than 15 percent.

"His middle name is Kallen, which is Gaelic for Warrior, that's exactly what he is," writes Danelle LaPenta, who started the GoFundMe campaign for the family. "He fought his way into this world and his fight continues."

As of early Monday, more than $36,000 had been donated to the campaign from 330 donors, in the span of just over a week. James even has a Facebook following: more than 400 people are following his journey as he battles his illness.

James has already endured several surgeries, and he has several more coming up in the coming days and weeks ahead. Doctors hope to help him grow and age healthily to the point where is eventually able to receive kidney transplant, at around age 2.

In addition to the upwelling of community support, James has a strong force by his side at home: his mom April is his full time nurse. His dad, Jim, is a former Marine who deployed to Iraq. Both will be tested to be kidney donors. He also has three older sisters who are pulling for him.

The family has ties to Bucks, Montgomery, and Delaware counties, as well as northeast Philadelphia.

To learn more about Baby James and to donate, see the GoFundMe page here.