Meet Dilan

At 12 years old, Dilan was a gifted student and star catcher on his Little League team. He lived with a minor nut allergy, but his symptoms were limited to an itchy throat and occasional vomiting. Then, during his family’s summer vacation in Croatia, everything changed. After eating a chocolate croissant which purportedly did not contain nuts, Dilan started to struggle. Within minutes, he stopped breathing and had no pulse. “He went from being perfectly fine to fighting for his life just like that,” says Steven, Dilan’s father. The severe allergic reaction put Dilan in a coma, and at one point doctors feared he would never reawaken.

Dilan was stabilized at a nearby hospital, but an MRI revealed a grave prognosis: Oxygen deprivation had resulted in severe brain damage. Dilan was transported to UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital Oakland, where he spent two months in the rehabilitation unit undergoing hours of daily physical, speech and occupational therapy sessions. 

Dilan started with basic skills, progressing from shaping Play-Doh to doing math homework. His therapy sessions also included time in an exoskeleton, a wearable robot with computerized sensors and motors. This leading-edge technology would eventually help Dilan re-learn what most of us take for granted: how to walk. His doctors and therapists challenged him while supporting him, and the hospital became a second home. 

Through the help of UCSF’s brilliant staff and his own incomparable perseverance, Dilan has made a miraculous recovery. From pediatric cancer to rare genetic diseases, UCSF is tackling the most challenging medical issues children may face with world-class facilities, innovative research, and exceptional care. Your generous donations are crucial to giving children like Dilan another chance at life.