Dad builds Snowbird jet Halloween costume for son with complex special needs
Tracey and her son Jackson are preparing for their family’s favourite time of the year.
“It’s better than Christmas,” Tracey says with a smile.
Jackson started celebrating as a baby, before dressing up as a monkey for his second Halloween. (He was Curious George. His father, Chad, was The Man with the Yellow Hat).
Around this time, Tracey started worrying it was more than her son’s costume that was curious.
“He was very floppy,” Tracey says. “I took him to the doctor and said, ‘He doesn’t look at me. I think he has autism.’”
Tracey was right. And eventually, Jackson was diagnosed with a rare and complex collection of disorders, including cerebral palsy.
“In the beginning it was, ‘We’re never going to be able to do this,’” Tracey recalls. “We’re never going to be able to do that.”
How do you trick or treat, they wondered, if you can’t walk or talk?
“We can dress him up in the wheelchair and go door to door,” Tracey says. “But that’s not fun.”
So instead of getting down, Chad found a way to make their son’s third Halloween feel up. Despite having no prior building experience, he made a mobile version of the balloon house from Pixar’s “Up.” Jackson sat inside, dressed as the movie’s old man.
“I had no idea I had this creativity in me,” Chad says. “I had no idea I could this until I had to.”
When Jackson was four, he was into Scooby-Doo, so Chad built a replica of the cartoon dog’s van, the Mystery Machine, so his son could travel door-to-door and load up on Scooby snacks.
“It’s love,” Chad smiles. “It’s definitely a labour of love.”
When Jackson was seven, his costume was definitely an expression of gratitude too. Chad built an ambulance with multiple flashing lights and a bluetooth speaker playing health-care themed songs, to thank all the first responders who had arrived to save their boy.
“I call them floats,” Tracey smiles, describing Chad’s increasingly elaborate creations. “They’re not really costumes. They’re floats.”
However you describe them, Chad spends months creating them from scratch with no plans.
This year, for the first time, Jackson was able to help build some sections.
“My God, he has soared!” Tracey smiles with pride. “(Jackson) has taken off!”
This year, the 10-year-old couldn’t be a more perfect pilot for his dad’s most complex costume yet.
It’s a “Top Gun”-playing (from a Bluetooth speaker), engine-blazing (from a smoke-machine in the tail), Royal Canadian Air Force Snowbird jet.
After they help Jackson into the cockpit and “Danger Zone” starts playing, Jackson can’t contain his enthusiasm.
“It’s an experience I hope he’ll never forget,” Chad says.
During these joyful moments, Tracey reflects on her relationship with Chad.
“When you get married, you know what your boyfriend is going to be as a husband,” Tracey starts saying. “But when you have a child…”
When you have a child you have no idea how aerodynamic a dad they’ll be. But with Chad as her co-pilot, Tracey says there’s no doubt that this Halloween Jackson’s joy will reach new heights.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
DEVELOPING Person on fire outside Trump's hush money trial rushed away on a stretcher
A person who was on fire in a park outside the New York courthouse where Donald Trump’s hush money trial is taking place has been rushed away on a stretcher.
Mandisa, Grammy award-winning 'American Idol' alum, dead at 47
Soulful gospel artist Mandisa, a Grammy-winning singer who got her start as a contestant on 'American Idol' in 2006, has died, according to a statement on her verified social media. She was 47.
She set out to find a husband in a year. Then she matched with a guy on a dating app on the other side of the world
Scottish comedian Samantha Hannah was working on a comedy show about finding a husband when Toby Hunter came into her life. What happened next surprised them both.
'It could be catastrophic': Woman says natural supplement contained hidden painkiller drug
A Manitoba woman thought she found a miracle natural supplement, but said a hidden ingredient wreaked havoc on her health.
Young people 'tortured' if stolen vehicle operations fail, Montreal police tell MPs
One day after a Montreal police officer fired gunshots at a suspect in a stolen vehicle, senior officers were telling parliamentarians that organized crime groups are recruiting people as young as 15 in the city to steal cars so that they can be shipped overseas.
Vicious attack on a dog ends with charges for northern Ont. suspect
Police in Sault Ste. Marie charged a 22-year-old man with animal cruelty following an attack on a dog Thursday morning.
Senators reject field trip to African Lion Safari amid elephant bill study
The Senate legal affairs committee has rejected a motion calling for members to take a $50,000 field trip to the African Lion Safari in southern Ontario to see the zoo's elephant exhibit.
Tropical fish stolen from Beachburg, Ont. restaurant found and returned
Ontario Provincial Police have landed a suspect following a fishy theft in Beachburg, Ont.
DEVELOPING G7 warns of new sanctions against Iran as world reacts to apparent Israeli drone attack
Group of Seven foreign ministers warned of new sanctions against Iran on Friday for its drone and missile attack on Israel, and urged both sides to avoid an escalation of the conflict.