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Quadriplegic Teen Sees NASCAR Wish Come True
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Quadriplegic Teen Sees NASCAR Wish Come True
iReport — 14-year-old Dylan Picariello spends his days surrounded by NASCAR drivers and cars. He loves the sport, but he’ll never drive a vehicle.Doctors diagnosed Dylan with a brain tumor when he was just three years old. The residual side effects from treatment left him a quadriplegic that relies on a ventilator to sustain life.Dylan is bed-ridden most of the time and that’s why his mother turned his bedroom into a make-shift NASCAR museum. His bed is surrounded by cardboard cut-outs of his favorite driver, Tony Stewart, and his shelves are lines with just about every race car model imaginable.Dylan takes great pleasure in watching NASCAR races on television and when I met him he told me that he would love to see a race in person, but didn’t think it was possible.After hearing about Dylan’s dream, Florida’s Blood Centers contacted the Daytona International Speedway and the Van Duzer Foundation (the organization hosting a fundraiser and blood drive in honor of Dylan’s family) and arranged for Dylan to see the Coke Zero 400 from the Daytona 500 Club.The organizations decided to surprise Dylan by sending down a special Coke Zero 400 car to his fundraiser and present him with the tickets.Dylan was shocked when the car turned into the parking lot and he couldn’t wait for his mother to push his wheelchair up close so he could get a look. While he was checking out the car, Dean Kurtz with the Daytona International Speedway presented him with a model car, a special NASCAR hat and told him that not only was he was going to the Fourth of July weekend race, but he would also be going to Victory Lane to celebrate with the winning driver.Dylan was stunned and very appreciative.Dylan’s surprise came on a day meant for surprises. It was Scott Van Duzer’s birthday celebration and instead of asking for presents he asked that the community attend Dylan’s fundraiser and blood drive to help support the family.The response was overwhelming and more than $8,000 was raised for the P...
Video Length: 0
Date Found: June 06, 2011
Date Produced:
View Count: 2
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