MedStar paramedics took two boys with the same neurological disorder to trick-or-treat on October 29. For 10-year-old Christopher and 5-year-old Maximillian, the evening out was the first time that they had gone trick-or-treating since they were infants.
This is the ninth year that MedStar has put on this program for children who would not normally be able to trick-or-treat due to their medical conditions.
Each year one or two children are selected among the nominees and picked up by MedStar personnel at their homes. They are then taken to a preselected neighborhood in Fort Worth and escorted around it with a stretcher and medical support, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
MedStar’s initial release said that nominations would close by October 18. However, that deadline was later removed, and nominations were allowed to come in till Halloween Day.
The brothers were nominated by Cook Children’s Health Plan.
“We have two young boys, both of them with a rare disease called Pelizaeus-Merzbacher disease,” said Christopher Watson, the father of the two boys speaking to CBS News. “They’ve had it since birth. They’re both tube fed and have very little-to-no motor skills, and they don’t talk,” he continued.
The disease is progressive and has no known cure or standard course of treatment.
Christopher dressed up as Superman, and Maximillian went as Mickey Mouse. The rest of the family dressed up as well, with their sister Aubrey going as Pluto, their dad as Shazam, and their mom as Minnie Mouse.
“It means the world to us because we’re homebodies,” Watson said.
The night went on without any complications.
“Just the joy and happiness of being able to get out and do something they couldn’t do on their own,” said Noah Vasquez, one of the attending EMTs.
