No Boundaries

When Ben was 5, his greatest wish was to fly. He didn’t care how–either planes or rockets would do. He was granted a room in which he could dream of flying, from the incredibly generous Room to Dream Foundation, who selected Ben as the third child (at that time) to benefit from a newly created healing space in which Ben could focus on living instead of his chronic health issues. Decked out with an airplane light and mural, a “hangar” closet door, and pictures of astronauts with personal messages to Ben, how could he not dream of flying high?

Ben the flying squirrel, May 2012

Last week at Hale Reservation, Ben, along with his 5th grade classmates, did indeed fly high. With the determined help of Sprague school’s physical therapist and Ben’s teachers, Ben became a flying squirrel! He was also able to go up in the ropes course swing, and with Beth Quinty, aka MacGyver, Ben was able to participate in rowing as well. I happened to be in Minneapolis at this time, attending the annual meeting of the Association of University Programs in Health Administration, a teaching conference for faculty in health policy and management programs, but I got regular updates from Beth along the way. When I later asked Ben what his favorite activity was, he said, “The ropes. I could have stayed up there all day!”. He may now be twice as old, but his love of flying is still strong!

Ben’s love of planes–and moving fast in general–is so BOY. We know he would want to dive into a bathtub if he could. When Charlotte was asking about swimming lessons today, Ben said to me, “when will I get my trach out so that I can swim?”. And if that weren’t killer enough, Ben was showing me the website he just created about Louis Sachar and his books, the final part of a long author study project. The website is so professional, I was blown away. On the “about the author” page (which is about the student, not the author studied), Ben wrote about himself, saying that above all, he “wants to be normal and explore the world”.

As I said to the TV reporter who covered Ben’s room transformation five years ago, we try to do everything for Ben because we want him to do everything he can. So many people along the way have helped us feel like we and Ben can do everything and anything. Stefan Nathanson, Mike Collins and Bill Hughes, founder and founding board members of Room to Dream Foundation started Ben on his flight in Kindergarten. Beth Quinty, Heather Heon, Paul Johnson and SO many teachers, therapists and friends along the way have made sure that Ben remains in flight.

When the 5th graders fly up to the middle school this week, I’ll be looking forward to another leg of the voyage, but I’ll never forget where we’ve been. It’s been an unforgettable ride, and one that I could never have imagined in my wildest dreams.