UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital provides 'path to recovery' for toddler with neurological condition

RICHMOND, Calif. - It is Giving Tuesday, and KTVU is partnering once again with UCSF Benioff Children's Hospitals. Your support means doctors, nurses, and staff can provide life-changing care to children in the Bay Area and beyond.

One family from the East Bay is grateful for the care they are receiving for their 3-year-old daughter. Tim Fitzgerald and Lokelani Montero said their daughter, Leia, was diagnosed with autoimmune encephalitis one year ago.

"She hasn’t eaten on her own, walked, or talked since last December," Fitzgerald said.

The family went to urgent care in December 2023 because they thought Leia had an ear infection, but her symptoms kept getting worse. 

"She would space out and be unresponsive," he said. "Then there would be these wild agitations... angry moments and calling out for us from her room."

Emergency room staff at their local hospital in Richmond diagnosed Leia with a specific type of encephalitis called anti-NMDAR encephalitis. It is a rare disease that causes the immune system to attack parts of her brain, which leads to seizures, movement disorders, and changes in behavior.

"It's scary because you've never heard the word encephalitis before," Montero said. "I tracked down the doctor that discovered this condition in 2007 and he said UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital is a powerhouse in treating rare conditions."

Prior to the diagnosis, Leia was a happy and energetic 2-year-old who loved to dance and laugh.

"She was hilarious. She was the literal definition of a bundle of joy," Fitzgerald said.

The family spent four months at UCSF Children's where Leia received treatment and progressed to the rehab floor. She eventually went home earlier this year.

"Although she wasn’t running down the hallway like other kiddos, we were just thankful that she was able to come home."

Leia recently reunited with members of her rehab team who were amazed by her progress.

"Without that rehab team on the fourth floor, "4 South," we would have been pretty lost," Fitzgerald said. "There’s a light at the end of the tunnel for her. A path to recovery for her. We wouldn’t know how to be on that path without them."

Montero, who does philanthropy work for Bank of America, said her company had donated to UCSF Children’s before she ever needed its services. The family is grateful to give back to the place that is helping Leia heal and so many other kids heal too.

"I never realized how resilient Leia and us as a family unit could be," she said. "Your donation really helps give her a chance to live a thriving life."

To donate to UCSF Children's Hospital on this year's Giving Tuesday, click here.