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Toddler With 'Childhood Alzheimer's' Begins Treatment At Chicago Hospital

(CBS) -- A Southern California family is in Chicago now so that their 19-month-old daughter can begin treatment at Rush University Medical Center for a rare disease that is sometimes called "Childhood Alzheimer's."

WBBM's Steve Miller reports.

Marian McGlocklin is already starting to show some symptoms of Niemann-Pick disease type C, says her mother, Sara.

"The possibility of that same little girl one day looking at me and not knowing who I am -- it breaks my heart in a million pieces."

Sara and her family are from Monrovia, Calif., and they're here in Chicago because Rush offers a treatment for Niemann-Pick type C.

She says they'll be coming here every two weeks for a while.

McGlocklin says their hotel in River North learned their story after they checked in on Facebook.

"And so when we went out for our walk, when we came back to the room, they had filled it with toys as a surprise."

She says the treatment Marian is getting now here in Chicago could help her stay alive for years longer, but it's not a cure.

For more information, go to the Facebook page Hope For Marian. There is also a Go Fund Me page.

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