PLATTSBURGH -- For Randy and Kate Duprey, being in North Carolina for 130 days was difficult but worthwhile.

Randy suffers from systematic scleroderma, a disease that affects the organs of the body and hardens the skin.

The Dupreys and their young son, Alek, went to Duke University so Randy could undergo research-based stem-cell therapy to try to help his condition.

"Being away from our family as we were, when we needed them at the time, was challenging for me," Kate said.

"But we have our own family' down there. The one thing that you don't realize is how many sick people there are until you are in that atmosphere."

Randy said the university surely lived up to its quality reputation.

"It was an amazing team of doctors that I was working with. The treatment is by far the best that I've ever seen. They had good bedside manners. They know what you are going through enough, and they try to make you as comfortable as possible."

He had a transplant from his brother, Kevin, to help fight the disease. The procedure went very smoothly.

The family now has to travel to Duke every other month for a year for checkups.

Kate said the support that they received from friends and family from the North Country was phenomenal.

"If it were not for the community and the funding that was raised while we were down there, I don't know if we would have been able to do it."

She said the experience also taught them an important lesson.

"We just realized that the simple things in life are worth more than sweating the little things."