STAR WARS CONVENTION MORE THAN A MOVIE-LOVER’S PARADISE

posted by blair on 18th, 2010

If you were to ask me if I were excited about going to the Star Wars convention (FOR WORK) last Friday, I might randomly start spouting out classic movie lines, describe what we might be filming for our online web site video or even mention that I would be attending dressed as Princess Leia (sorry guys, no golden bikini).

I was looking forward to seeing costumes, creatures and creativity at its finest, as conventions always bring the three together into one chaotic but colorful setting. (I think I’m C-eeing a pattern here in this sentence…)

As I walked around the convention with the Lake County couple LAKE Magazine would be featuring on the video [to be posted this week], I learned of a special “hero” that would be making an appearance at the event.

No, it wasn’t Luke Skywalker (although Mark Hamill was there) or a costumed movie hero that you would only see on rare occasions.

No, the hero I speak of is a little boy named Wyatt who was attending his first-ever convention with his family. What makes Wyatt a hero is that he has spinal bifida and hydrocephalus, but neither medical condition has him.

Rocking a blue Mohawk that matches his father’s, Wyatt was grinning from ear to ear as he stopped to talk to several of his favorite Star Wars characters walking by about – what else? – Star Wars.

He even asked me to pose in a picture with him and nothing could top the feeling of having that little boy put his arm across my shoulders for the picture. It was an endearing hug and picture from someone with more inner strength than I would could ever hope to have.

The couple we were videotaping, Amy and Randy Herman of Clermont, told me they got in contact with Wyatt through their friend and fellow 501st member Todd Erdman of Clermont. Todd was attending a Tampa Bay Storm arena football game with friends when he came across the spirited boy in the wheelchair with the blue Mohawk.

“He is a huge Star Wars fan and his family had never heard about the Star Wars Celebration convention so we [The Hermans and Todd and his wife Shannon] came up with tickets for the whole family to go and found some merchandise for them,” Todd says.

“This is why I do this [being a Star Wars costumed character]. I’ve been lucky in life and I want to help others as much as I can.”

Todd also told me that Wyatt had undergone more than a few surgeries in the last year for his medical conditions, yet you would never have known as he excitedly told me the film premise of the Transformers sequel (with interjections by his younger sister).

Wyatt briefly talked about his condition when he asked me if I had seen ”The Karate Kid.” He then went on to tell me that he found the lead character Daniel (Ralph Macchio) and his determination to stop the bullies pushing him around as what encouraged him to pull through all his surgeries.

Even around fantasy characters at the convention or comic-book heros in general with different kinds of powers and abilities, Wyatt looked to the everyday hero of Daniel from “The Karate Kid” as someone he aspired to be.

I aspired to be just like Wyatt in the same way, someone who appreciates every moment of life and doesn’t let conditions out of his hands get in the way of living life to the fullest. That is the making of a true hero, one that is extraordinary yet relatable.

P.S. Just in case you wanted to know what I looked like in my Princess Leia getup, here it is.