Chicago Sun Times : By darryl holliday Staff Reporter
A prom date for Starlight children : June 3, 2011
Quantell Wood’s prom was a bit out of the ordinary. But then not much of his life has been typical since he was born with a host of severe medical problems, 21 years ago at Rush University Medical Center.
Having spent the first 16 months of his life hospitalized after being exposed to drugs and alcoholin utero, Wood has since suffered a slew of cognitive and physical disabilities, including brain damage and a partial amputation on one hand. He’s managed to outlive his doctors’ expectations with the help of his adoptive mother, doctors, and the Starlight Children’s Foundation, an advocacy organization for children with chronic and life-threatening illnesses.
The foundation’s yearly prom was held May 21. The aim: for young people with life-threatening medical conditions to experience the prom they might have missed. More than 100 kids with various conditions and their dates attended.
Attendees, ages 13 and up, came dressed to impress and without any fear of harassment or discomfort that may have comewith a typical school-sponsored prom. Some requiring the aid of caregivers or medical devices such as oxygen tanks, they enjoyed a safe environment in which to experience the teenage tradition with their peers.
“It was pretty fun,” Wood said. “I like doing all the good stuff.”
An avid sports fan, “the good stuff,” according to Wood, includes such foundation-sponsored outings as trips to Cubs, Bears, Bulls and White Sox games.
“He’s a Chicago sports fanatic,” said his mother, Pam Wood. “He’s in deep mourning because of the Bulls’ loss.”
She took Quantell in as a foster child when he was two years old and adopted him at age four. She remembers the moment she knew she wanted to adopt him: They made eye contact for the first time, and he smiled.
“There was a little person there that nobody had been able to draw out,” she said. “It’s like he made the decision for me, like he chose me.” Wood has since found an even larger family with the Starlight Foundation.
Where he may have once been out of place with individuals his own age, Quantell has flourished with other Starlight kids, said his mother and Starlight Midwest’s executive director, Joan Steltman.
The privately funded organization has impacted the lives of 300,000 children and families just like Quantell’s across the Midwest, according to Steltman. On Saturday, the organization will celebrate its 25th anniversary here with a fundraiser at The Standard Club, expected to draw 300 guestsand actress Minnie Driver.
“When you’re a sick child, you’re robbed of a lot of experiences,” Steltman said. “We want to give them a chance to be kids and have fun. We’re committed to helping not just children but their entire family.”
As for Quantell, he’s planning on baking his mother a cake for her birthday next month. Aside from that, he said he’ll spend time watching TV, reading or playing video games this summer. Having “danced a lot” at his prom, Quantell is back to his day-to-day life, filled with medications and hospital visits, and sports.
“I don’t think [the Miami Heat] are going to win this time. I think it’s time they’re going to lose,” he predicted after their victory over the Bulls.
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