
"We raised over half a million dollars for an inclusive playground in less than a year."
From This One Time in Kankakee by WVLI Podcast Network
May 18, 2026 · 18 min · Episode 18
About this episode
The episode discusses a community's response to a rare medical diagnosis and their efforts to raise funds for an inclusive playground.
What happens when a single viral video transforms a devastating rare medical diagnosis into a half-million-dollar community miracle? In this feature-length episode of This One Time in Kankakee, host Jake LaMore sits down with local residents Hollie and Jesse Erickson for an incredibly raw, moving, and ultimately triumphant conversation about their youngest son, Bedford. When Bedford was just a toddler, he was diagnosed with Schwartz-Jampel Syndrome (SJS), an ultra-rare genetic condition with ...
People in this episode
Host: Jake LaMore
Guests: Hollie Erickson, Jesse Erickson
Topics covered
- community support
- rare medical diagnosis
- fundraising
- inclusive playground
- personal stories
Keywords
- viral video
- Schwartz-Jampel Syndrome
- fundraising
- community miracle
- inclusive playground
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Schwartz-Jampel Syndrome
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