Meet Vito
Meet our wonderful hero, Vito, whose powerful story Aidan carried with him into the final Lions game of the season💙
“Vito is 7 years old and was born with Goldenhar syndrome. Goldenhar syndrome is a rare craniofacial condition present at birth, characterized by abnormal development of the eye, ear, mandible and spine. Due to his syndrome Vito was also born with a heart and kidney defect.
At three weeks old Vito underwent his first of twenty surgeries. He was born with a large tumor on his cornea which cost him full vision in that eye. He also has moderate hearing loss from his malformed ear.
Vito has not let multiple surgeries or physical limitations slow him down. He is an active boy who loves his brothers, spending time on his grandparents’ farm in St. Clair, Michigan, Fortnite, and the Detroit Lions—especially Aidan Hutchinson and Amon Ra St. Brown. Staying true to his Italian name he loves to eat Italian food at his favorite restaurant, Da Francesco’s in Shelby Twp.
As is the case with most children with craniofacial syndromes, Vito deals with not only multiple medical conditions and surgeries, but also the social stigmas of being born with facial deformities. Our family tries to raise awareness for people with facial differences by visiting classrooms and reading ‘We’re All Wonders’ by R.J. Palacio. We envision a world where Vito is accepted for who he is, not how he looks. We believe that true beauty lies within and accepting diversity in every form is important.”
Vito’s quote on Aidan’s water jug is “Choose kind” from the book “We’re all Wonders,” which is about a boy with craniofacial syndrome. Vito inspires us to be strong, humble, compassionate, and more joyful. He is the very embodiment of all of those things. That’s why he’s our hero.
Love Always,
Team Hutch