Local

Channel 11 viewers help special needs girls whose pool was destroyed by vandals

BEAVER FALLS, Pa. — After Channel 11 aired a story about a Beaver Falls family with two special needs girls whose pool was destroyed by vandals, the newsroom was flooded with calls and emails about how to help.
 
The family's pool wasn't just a place to swim; Leah McGurk, 12, and her little sister Olivia McGurk, 9, have Dravet syndrome, a terminal form of epilepsy, and depended on the pool for therapy.
 
Several people are offering to get a pool for the family.  The family has also set up a fund. Donations can be made to: ESB Bank c/o Sistersnseizures or Leah/Olivia McGurk, 701 Corporation St., Beaver, PA 15009
 
The McGurk girls have been in the hospital hundreds of times and suffer from daily seizures.
 
Channel 11's Amy Marcinkiewicz visited the family Wednesday.
 
"I'm trying not to cry, but this is hard.  The girls want to come out here and swim.  This is their therapy pool where they get exercise," said the girls' father, Joe McGurk.
 
"I can't believe someone would do this to another human being.  I just want someone to come forward," said the girls' mother, Danielle McGurk.
 
Marcinkiewicz reported the family filed a police report.  The McGurks are hoping someone comes forward because they told their story.