RANCHO SANTA MARGARITA, Calif.
A 4-year-old boy from Rancho Santa Margarita captured the hearts of many when ABC7 reported his prosthetic leg was stolen from the beach, including the heart of a famous celebrity who has offered to help him. Liam Brenes had his prosthetic leg swiped by thieves during his first trip to Crystal Cove State Beach in Orange County Sunday morning.
His father had Liam leave his prosthetic leg on the sand to protect it from the salt water. "We were in the water for two hours," Liam explained. "And came back and everything was gone. They stole my leg." MORE: Prosthetic leg stolen from 4-year-old boy at Crystal Cove beach When Liam was 1, his right leg was amputated just below the knee due to a rare condition that left him without a fibula, the smaller bone between the knee and ankle. "It's upsetting. It makes me sad someone would do that," Liam's mother Amanda McFarland said. "It's just heartless. It's a child's leg, you know? He needs it to be able to get around and function normally," she continued. Liam does have an old prosthetic leg, but he's grown out of it and the leg is now three inches too short. His mother fears a new leg could cost thousands of dollars and take several weeks to make. But Liam had another idea: He said he'd ask Santa for a new leg. Well, something close to Santa Claus was watching ABC7 on Monday and was touched by Liam's story. "Shark Tank" star Robert Herjavec contacted ABC7 after watching Liam's report and offered to help. ABC7 Entertainment Guru George Pennacchio asked him why this story touched Herjavec so much. "It just broke my heart," Herjavec said. "I mean, to think about what the little boy has gone through. And with everything that's happening in the world and so much negativity, I just thought if I had the opportunity to make him grow up in an environment where he thinks there are some good people in the world, why not?" Herjavec generosity didn't end there. He had another surprise for Liam. "I've spoken to the folks at ABC and Disney and we're going to arrange to have him to a VIP tour of Disney and get to go to the park and have some fun in life because it's good to have fun in life," Herjavec said. Herjavec told ABC7 he's confident he can fast track the new prosthetic leg for Liam so he doesn't have to wait so long. Also, a local prosthetics company indicted it was willing to help Liam.