An 8-year-old boy’s Christmas wish came true early thanks to the help of two Orlando natives who happen to be NFL players.
According to the Disney Parks blog, all Jackson DeLude, 8, who was born without fully developed legs, wanted for Christmas was to be able to run alongside his friends.
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Orlando natives Matt Milano and Gabriel Davis, both players on the Buffalo Bills, heard about the boy’s wish and decided to make it a reality along with a little extra Disney magic.
“You see young kids that are born with these abnormal qualities they are missing a limb, missing a leg and they are in there working on how to walk and how to write things like that and you just don’t know how blessed your life is … so if you can help some kids life this early knowing you have the ability why not do it?” Davis said.
The blog said the players paid for Jackson and his mom to fly to Orlando and have the boy fitted with two prosthetic legs. While they were in town, the players also arranged for the family’s first trip to Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
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Jackson was able to celebrate using his new blades bouncing and skipping his way through the theme park.
“I think that I’m very fast and excited for when I get home and I can show all my friends what I can do and I can be like my friends and still be me,” Jackson said.
Milano said see’s Jackson laugh, jump and smile made their donation worth it.
“He was so happy smiling telling us about his favorite rides and what he was doing, so it was so cool to see him with a smile on his face,” Milano said.
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