Mom creates wheelchair-friendly costume for son with spina bifida
A 5-year-old with spina bifida has a really cool Halloween costume this year that complements his wheelchair — thanks to some creative and handy family members.
Blake Mompher of Prospect, Ohio, has a custom costume that was designed by his mother, Megan Mompher, and made into reality by his grandfather, Gary Mompher: a school bus that fits over the top of his wheelchair. In an homage to him, the side of the bus says “Blake County Schools.”
Megan Mompher posted photos of her son’s costume online, and they quickly went viral. Blake has been in a wheelchair since he was a year and a half old, she told Yahoo Lifestyle. This is his second costume to complement his wheelchair: In 2016, he was a bulldozer.
Megan says she had some friends who had a similar idea for a costume for their child and she thought it would be great for her son. “He just loves being in his chair and buses,” she says. She started researching ideas online and on Pinterest, and asked her father-in-law to build the costume.
Megan says Blake loves his costume. “He always wants to check on his bus,” she says. “It’s just sitting and waiting at home for Halloween, and he’ll say, ‘I’ve got to go check on my bus,’” she says. “He always asks to ride in it.”
Megan says that it was “heartwarming” to see Blake in his costume for the first time. “He loves anything that’s trucks, anything that moves,” she says. “Just to see him happy in it was so special, because he’s been through a lot. To see him happy is always a good thing.”
Megan says she wants other parents of children with spina bifida to know that they’re not alone. “The first diagnosis can be really scary — we found out when I was 20 weeks pregnant with Blake,” she says. “But your child is going to be fine. We were told a lot of scary things, but your child is going to be happy.” Megan also says there are “little things you can do when your child is older to make life easier and fun. Costumes like this are just one of them.”
Read more from Yahoo Lifestyle:
Mom terrified of ‘costumes and speaking to strangers’ wants to hire someone to take children trick-or-treating for $65 an hour
Passerby calls 911 after mistaking Army veteran’s Halloween decorations for a real-life plane crash
This woman’s ‘sexy’ Halloween costumes for moms are frighteningly funny
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