Foundation sending seriously ill NASCAR fan to meet his hero
By TYLER CHRISTENSEN for the Missoulian (Reprinted)
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Jesse Drake, 10, waves to a crowd of well-wishers outside Missoula International Airport on Friday morning. Public safety officers let Drake and his family ride in a fire truck while he waited for a flight to take him to meet his hero, NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Photo by LIZ GRAUMAN/Missoulian |
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When 10-year-old race car enthusiast Jesse Drake was told he could make one wish - any wish at all - and it would be granted, he naturally wished to meet Dale Earnhardt Jr., the third-generation NASCAR champion adored by racing fans and 10-year-old boys across America.
Now, thanks to the Make-A-Wish Foundation, the international organization that helps children with life-threatening medical conditions, that wish will come true.
When he was 4 years old, Jesse was diagnosed with a rare genetic disease called cystinosis. Although the disease attacks other organs, it hits the kidneys the hardest. Jesse is suffering from end-stage renal failure, meaning his kidneys are unable to remove most of his body's wastes and fluids.
Every night, Jesse must be tethered to a dialysis machine to remove those wastes and fluids. It takes 10 hours. At the same time, he has an eight-hour gastrostomy tube feeding. He takes nine different medications.
His mom, Ginger Carpentier, estimates that it costs about $8,000 for each delivery of 2,000 pounds of dialysis solution, which the family receives once a month.
"A child's illness impacts not just a child, but the child's whole family, siblings," said Adrienne Dussault, a Make-A-Wish Foundation volunteer. "I don't care how good your medical insurance is, it also impacts a family financially."
Jesse ends up missing a lot of school. He's not allowed to swim in the lake on warm summer days. But he can go to stock car races every Saturday during racing season.
Racing cars seems to run in Jesse's blood. His dad, Mike Drake, builds and races stock cars, as does his grandfather, Jake Carpentier. It seems everyone in his family has taken a turn at the wheel, including Jesse's mom, who has trophies to show for it.
"We're a racing family," said Babe Carpentier, his grandmother.
So Jesse knew just what to wish for last April when he met Dussault and Leta Chustz, volunteers for the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
They waited for a time when Jesse would feel up to the trip and Earnhardt would have a time slot available. Earnhardt will only meet with one child per race, so he can make the meeting as memorable as possible, Dussault said.
"I was just happy to hear that he was going to have his wish," Jesse's mom said.
In January, the family learned that Jesse would soon get his wish - and a whole lot more.
"It totally exceeded my expectations," Dussault said. "People in Missoula are wonderful. Whenever I've approached them, they're just wonderful."
Dussault said she drew on the generosity of many to help make Jesse's sendoff Friday morning a special affair. She approached Jared Langley, owner of Golds Gym, to ask if he wouldn't mind lending his Hummer for Jesse's ride to the airport.
So Jesse and his family were picked up - surprise! - in a bright yellow Hummer driven by Golds Gym manager Todd Rains.
"I pulled around and Jesse's jaw just about hit the ground," Rains said.
They drove by Jesse's school so he could wave to his friends before stopping briefly at Joe's Smoke Ring, where they were met by four Highway Patrol cars.
"We had a full escort all the way to the airport, with the sirens going and the lights flashing," Rains said. "It was a heck of a send-off."
At the airport, public safety officers offered to let Jesse, siblings Jasper and Sierra, and best friend Aaron Burlang ride in a fire truck. Jesse got to operate the water sprayer.
"This is awesome," Dussault said. "I haven't been able to sleep for three weeks."
Jesse had his hair dyed NASCAR red for the occasion. He also had the number 8 - Earnhardt's car number - shaved into the back of his head, and his mom used mascara to outline the number.
He seemed a little overwhelmed by the crowd that greeted him at the airport with applause and black-and-white checked flags. He stood with hands in pockets, ducking his head now and then to hide a big gap-toothed grin.
"He's an extremely cute kid, bless his heart. I hope things turn out for him," said Bud Reed, a public safety officer for Missoula International Airport. "If we can help provide this for him - it's small. We're happy to help with this - it's something small."
Finally, Jesse and his parents boarded the plane for Jesse's first-ever flight. Destination: Los Angeles, where they'll spend three days in race-car heaven.
First, they'll meet Earnhardt and get a tour of the garage. They brought along some things for the famous driver to sign: a photo of Earnhardt, a dollar bill with his image on it and a red racing jacket, which they plan to frame.
But Jesse doesn't plan to give nothing in return. He drew a colorful scratchboard picture and wrote a letter to give to his racing hero:
"Hey . . . Dale Earnhardt Jr. I am your one and only fan and I hope you win for me. Did you know that my dad races a hobby stock car? His number is 13. We go to the races at our home track every Saturday in the summer. I bet you had the best dad in whole world. I'm really sorry about your dad. I really liked him. To me, he reminds me of my dad, fast and pushy."
On Sunday, Jesse will get to cheer for his hero at the California Speedway's Auto Club 500.
"It feels good to, you know, have a lot of hard times and then be able to do something like this," Ginger Carpentier said.
She and Drake thanked the Make-A-Wish Foundation and especially the volunteers who are helping make Jesse's dream a reality.
"I hope that other families that are in our situation are able to get in Make-A-Wish," Ginger said. "They're pretty much the best that I've ever seen."
The foundation has been making wishes come true since 1980. Kids may wish for anything imaginable, Dussault said, but generally their wishes tend to fall into four categories: to go somewhere, to be something, to meet someone or to have something. All expenses are covered by the foundation.
In Montana, 25 to 30 children are waiting for their wishes to come true. Unfortunately, because many of them live in remote locations, it's hard for volunteers to help them as quickly as they would like, said Dussault.
Some of Montana's wishers include an 18-year-old St. Ignatius girl, in remission from cancer, who just returned from fulfilling her Hawaii-vacation wish. Dussault is working on getting a 1954 Chevy pickup restored - a Miles City 16-year-old's wish. A paralyzed 13-year-old will get to go to the Pro Bowl next year. Another child in Miles City would like a horse.
The organization could use more volunteers, said Dussault, who has been a Make-A-Wish Foundation volunteer for nine years. "Frankly, I call it my attitude adjustment work," she said.
In another six months, Jesse will have completed a round of immunizations designed to prepare him for a kidney transplant. He'll go on a waiting list to receive a new kidney, which will hopefully free him from dialysis.
Jesse wants to be a racecar driver when he grows up. He's small for his age - an asset in the world of racing, when every ounce of extra weight counts.
And one day, when he's a famous racecar driver, he'll probably give Earnhardt a run for his money.
Tyler Christensen is a journalism student at the University of Montana and an intern at the Missoulian.
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