NJ Family Turns To Crowd Funding To Bring Bedridden Son Home From Finland Hospital

MONTCLAIR, N.J. (CBSNewYork) -- Sweet-faced with a charming grin, always active and ready to take the field -- that's how family and friends think of 13-year-old Marco Ziccardi.

"He is such a chatty, outgoing kind of guy," Marco's father Vito told CBS2's Hazel Sanchez.

That's why it pains Vito to see his son bedridden, on a breathing machine, and stuck in a hospital in Finland, thousands of miles from his home in Montclair.

"He wants to come home and I want him to come home," Vito said.

Ziccardi said in September, his wife from Finland flew to her home country seeking treatment for Marco after doctors in New Jersey couldn't figure out why his tongue was swelling.

"On the fourth night they went out to eat and he started choking, so they rushed him to the emergency room, and right away they put him in ICU," Vito said.

Doctors have since diagnosed Marco with a motor neuron disease that's destroying his ability to walk, speak, breathe, and swallow.

His condition is so delicate that he can only return to the U.S. by a full ambulatory flight.

Ziccardi, an event planner, started a GoFundMe page in hopes of raising more than $100,000 to pay for the transport, which isn't covered by insurance.

"You do anything for your kid, and when your hands are tied, and you're not able to grant a simple request. It's devastating," he said.

The Ziccardis have already received a great outpouring of support from their community, including donations from teachers and students at Marco's school.

"I'm amazed at how upbeat he stays throughout this whole thing. I mean, he's my hero," Vito said.

This determined dad said he'll do everything in his power to bring his hero home.