(would post some pictures, but I don't know how.)
My son, lets call him Deekia (His coh toon), is nine years old. Very intelligent with a reading level of 19 year old ( yes, we had him tested.)
His favorite TV show, The Big Bang Theory, I call him Shelly jr., you can guess why.
He loves space and everything to do with it.
He can tell you every greek god in mythology and their roman counterpart.
He is the most empathetic little boy I know.
He and his sister ( age 3) ( which makes them rare in themselves) have a rare genetic condition called Distalarthrogryposis. (told you it was long)(survival rate 1 in 3000 LIVE Births) . (
http://www.amcsupport.org/)( They say genetic but no one in either my or my husbands family have it.)
We found out about Deekia's condition the day he was born. Imagine our shock. Here was our first child, with special needs and we had no clue what to do.
He had his first surgery at 2 (7 more since, with more to come).
Shriners Hospital St. Louis, Mo ( Oh I can't tell you how much I love them) doctor told me after meeting Deekia that he would walk! With the many surgeries and pure will, that little boy walked one month after his second birthday!
He spent years in Physical therapy and occupational therapy, learning how to do the things we take for granted.
We made a deal, he and I. He would work on walking and I work on becoming a writer. He got better at walking.
To keep his mind off pain and other things when he was a year old, I had him on my lap watching me play City of Heroes. Many times he would hit the R ( auto run) key and cause many a team wipe out. Some at very crucial times
( Luckily, I played with a great bunch of people) I was told many time I could move auto run to another key, but I never could. He would giggle and clap as he watch the team wipe out.
Around 3, he would take control in the hollows and went to Go. Kil. Skulls. (He was reading by then) Telling me all the while he was "arresting" them. He loved it.
He would fly around randomly buffing and healing Heroes, so they knew they weren't alone.
At 6, he had his own account. He was brokenhearted when he found out about The Lost. He couldn't wait to get to the Rikti War Zone. He wanted to get the aliens!
And his allergies ( life threatening carry epi- pen type)..To ALL dairy ( ice cream), eggs, ALL nuts, cats, dogs. So when his classmates ( he really doesn't have friends his age.) went to the friendly pizza place ( ya know the one with the mouse) or had birthday parties, it's to dangerous for him to go. SO he made friends with other players who didn't care what he looks like on the other side of his Hero.
Why is this game so important that I am doing everything in my power to help #SaveCOH? He is.
He will never ride a bike, never play sports, never play tag, but in City of Heroes he can FLY!