11-year-old Luca Calanni's family said he was an old soul trapped in a 5th grader's body.
"When I look back I'm just like wow, how lucky were we?" Roger Calanni, Luca's father, said.
Sunday, January 5, 2020, Luca and one of his sisters didn't feel good. Calanni said they knew something was wrong when Luca took a nap, which he never normally did. Calanni took the two to the doctor Monday morning.
"They were both diagnosed with the flu," Calanni said.
But as Luca's sister powered through and got better, Luca didn't. After a few days and more trips to the doctor, Luca's parents brought him to the hospital.
Calanni said Luca was in good spirits at the hospital, asking his doctor when he would be able to go home.
"She said, 'You're out of the woods buddy,' and he said, 'When am I going to be able to go play basketball?' She said, 'Not this Saturday but the following Saturday.' Then it was with two hours, I'm guessing. It was all kind of a blur. That's when he went into cardiac arrest," Calanni said.
January 11, 2020, Luca passed away.
"Your kids are so little, and the first time you hold them... to that point where it's like an empty void. It's kind of like wow, this really happened. Wow. This is real. It's over with. Those dreams that you had for them are literally gone. Stolen," Calanni said.
So as doctors predict a rough flu season ahead, Calanni said if your child says they don't feel good, listen.
"I would not be able to live with myself if we did just one thing differently. If we would have not brought him to the doctor one of those days, if we would not have brought him to the hospital, if we would have just taken it for granted that it's just the flu," Calanni said.
Calanni said he does not want anyone to go through what their family and Luca's young friends did.
"It breaks my heart because these kids are like ten years old, and one day one of their best friends was there and... to have to go through that at such a young age," Calani said.
But now, Luca lives on through Live Like Luca, a foundation inspired by his old soul.
"We were getting gas after a basketball game and just talking about his 2019, and the things he's going to do for 2020, and talking about things like that. When he saw the Powerball in the window of a gas station he said to me how cool would that be if we win the lottery and we start a foundation for kids who aren't as lucky as me and my friends," Calanni said.
Live Like Luca has provided 400 scholarships in just the past two and a half years.
"For us it's just about taking his vision and his mission and driving it forward," Calanni said.
