Everyone has their own childhood memories from Halloween that they cherish of getting dressed up and trick or treating with their friends around the neighborhood. However, for some children, the simple act of celebrating Halloween can be considerably harder. One wheelchair-bound teenager in Portland, Oregon was just granted the costume of his dreams to help him celebrate the spooky time of year properly. Check it out below.
Hunter Powers got dressed up as his favorite spy character – Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. leader Phil Coulson – and his wheelchair has been converted into the iconic quinjet used by the team in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Hunter was born with spina bifida, meaning he cannot walk under the strength of his own legs, which keeps him confined to a wheelchair. He was given the costume by a non-profit called Magic Wheelchair, which provides expertly crafted costumes for kids who cannot walk like Hunter. Although Hunter’s costume is the first to be revealed by the non-profit this year, they have developed costumes for seven other kids who can’t walk but still want to experience the joy of trick or treating.
This specific chair accessory was created by California-based art teacher Jeff Watamura, who built the whole thing from scratch with his students and made the 12-hour drive to personally deliver it to Hunter. It is primarily made of foam, with epoxy resin and fiberglass cloth thrown in to make the finished product harder to the touch. Not content with merely making something that looks like a quinjet, Watamura and his students also installed electronics in the back that generate smoke – making it look like the engines are truly running. When asked about the project, Watamura gets emotional as he describes how he and his students have been touched by Hunter’s story:
It’s always been from day one about Hunter, and the kids know who Hunter is, they’ve seen pictures of him, and now they get to see this and it’s going to be pretty exciting.
Upon receiving the wheelchair costume, Hunter and the rest of his family were immediately overcome with gratitude and emotion at the foundation’s generosity. You can check out the video below to see Hunter’s full story:
While the October holiday had historically been a difficult time for Hunter, there remains little doubt that he will be the talk of the town this Halloween season. The story also makes us extremely excited to see the other seven costumes created by the Magic Wheelchair foundation.
