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Las Vegas valley family creates bucket list for baby with terminal disease

Their children first in U.S. with rare condition
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Posted at 9:22 AM, May 16, 2019
and last updated 2019-05-19 13:32:25-04

LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — A Las Vegas valley family is using tragedy to inspire others after losing both children to a rare genetic disease.

Lauren and Drew Staker say both of their children had a genetic condition that creates an epilepsy disease.

It's called early infantile epileptic encephalopathy type 3 and it's very rare.

So rare, their son Ridge and daughter Emerson were the first in the U.S. with the disease.

After Lauren lost her daughter at just a few weeks old, she and husband Drew knew that their son Ridge was not expected to live much longer.

So they created a bucket list for their son and invited the world to watch on Instagram.

Over a span of 11 months, their son Ridge visited Disney World, rode his first pony, went swimming and saw his first movie.

Ridge died on April 21, 2019 about three months shy of his 2nd birthday.

Losing their son and daughter in such a short period of time was heartbreaking for the couple.

Lauren and Drew are using their platform on social media to share their story.

Their children now serving as an inspiration and giving hope to other families.

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