C. Falls boy with brittle bones granted wish
Leroy McFadden carries his adopted son Trevor down Main Street toward Depot Park in Kalispell on Tuesday. Trevor, 10, has a genetic disorder known as osteogenesis imperfecta that allows his bones to be broken very easily. Despite having broken more than 80 bones in his lifetime, including his right foot most recently, Trevor is heading to Disney World for a full week with his family thanks to a grant from the Montana Highway Patrol’s Project Hope.
The McFadden family from left to right, Leroy, Trevor, Ayden and Mitzi. Leroy and Mitzi are in the process of adopting the two boys after being their foster parents for the past three years.
Trevor, 10, a fourth-grader at Glacier Gateway Elementary School, has broken more than 80 bones since his birth.
In the summer months, he suffered a fractured arm and hand. A recent small incident put Trevor in a boot cast.
“He was out playing and he turned his ankle,” his adoptive mother Mitzi McFadden said.
Trevor breaks bones because he suffers from a genetic condition known as osteogenesis imperfecta. It is an inherited disorder with no cure.
“Osteogenesis is, in short, brittle bones,” McFadden said.
Because Trevor lives with limits on his boyhood fun and life span, his father Leroy and Mitzi applied to the Montana Highway Patrol’s Project Hope to grant him a week of major family fun with his adoptive parents and his 6-year-old brother, Ayden, at Disney World.
On Tuesday, Sgt. Steve Lavin and other troopers gave Trevor the keys to the magic kingdom at a Pizza Hut lunch. Lavin, coordinator of Project Hope, said the group has raised a substantial fund to grant wishes to critically ill Montana youngsters. He wanted to get the word out about the program benefiting families like the McFaddens.
“We’re paying for the whole trip,” Lavin said. “We give them spending money and a camera. It’s a good thing for the whole family. It gives them all a fun break.”
He presented the family with the check, camera and an itinerary for the weeklong Orlando vacation at the festivities at Pizza Hut. Lavin knows just how important a trip like this can be to a family dealing with a critical illness.
“My son was a recipient — he came down with leukemia,” Lavin said.
His son’s wish was to go to Hawaii for the Pro Bowl. Lavin was more than grateful for the break for his family from the stress of battling cancer.
“That’s why I became coordinator,” he said.
For Mitzi and Leroy, a long-time dispatcher for the Columbia Falls Police Department, the trip marks another celebration. The couple is in the process of adopting Trevor and Ayden after caring for them as foster parents for the last three years.
They have one biological child who is now an adult but didn’t hesitate to take on raising another family.
“We fell in love with these boys,” Mitzi said. “It’s been very rewarding.”
The couple decided to adopt fully aware of the responsibilities they faced in the future with osteogenesis imperfecta. Mitzi said several members of Trevor’s biological family have this disorder, including his father, who is wheelchair bound.
“We’ll just face the challenges when they come,” she said. “That’s the responsibility we took on.”
Daily life can present challenges from the most innocuous activities. Mitzi said that even a blanket hooked over one of Trevor’s toes and pulled could result in a break.
She said that she and Leroy still try to let Trevor “be a boy” and manage risk as best they can. But he will never play on football or basketball teams and most likely faces a shortened life span.
The family enjoys outings, including a trip to Yellowstone. She said they went to the fair, and Trevor was able to go on some of the rides.
Mitzi said that Ayden was extremely excited about going to Disney World, but it hadn’t quite sunk in yet with Trevor.
“When we get down there, his eyes will light up and he will be a terror on wheels,” she said with a laugh.
The fun starts from the moment they land in Florida, according to Lavin.
“They get a limo ride from the airport,” he said.
Lavin arranged the trip through “Give Kids the World,” which operates a fantastic village resort specially designed to serve ill children and their families visiting surrounding theme parks. It includes 140 villa accommodations, entertainment and fun stops like ice-cream shops, all designed as a fantasy village.
Their itinerary has activities at the village, Sea World and Epcot theme park in Disney World. The family leaves Friday, and then flies out of Missoula on Saturday for the week of nonstop fun.
The boys will keep a journal of their activities to help make up for the missed school and make sure they remember Trevor’s magical wish granted by Montana Highway Patrol’s Project Hope.
“We’ll all be wide-eyed and up early every morning,” Mitzi said. “It will be good memories for the kids and us as well.”
People interested in learning more about Project Hope may do so at the website www.montanahope.org.
Reporter Candace Chase may be reached at 758-4436 or by e-mail at cchase@dailyinterlake.com.