December 22, 2016

Whenever kids do something wrong it is often reported and criticized immediately but I wanted to tell you a quick story about two young men in my neighborhood who did a wonderful thing for me and my son. I was waiting for Angelina to get off the bus so I could leave immediately to drop off some paperwork at CHOP.  As I was putting Dante in the car, he noticed our neighbor Lorenzo and another kid across the street (around 14) playing basketball. Dante called out to them "hi" which was something he hardly ever did, I asked Dante if he wanted to go over and say hi and he said "yes, go say hi, yes" so we went over. The boys asked Dante if he wanted to play and Dante said "yes, play, yes." This surprised me because he has never really shown any interest in sports. The boys were very friendly and patient with him and it melted my heart. They handed him the ball and encouraged him to shoot and showed him how to dribble. Dante was smiling from ear to ear.  To watch him interacting in this way is something I thought I would never see when he was first diagnosed over six years ago. It has been a real struggle through the years, and I am very proud of Dante and how far he has come. But yesterday, I was proud of two kids from the neighborhood who showed my son kindness. It was for sure an early Christmas present and it meant the world to me and Dante as well. To quote the last lines of Dead Poet’s Society, “Thank you boys, thank you.”