If 11-year-old Alex Penny of Olympia could have one wish come true, it would be world peace. Unfortunately, that’s a bit beyond the reach of the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
After three months of mulling it over, he decided on a new wish.
“He wanted to see robots helping people, helping them walk or help in any way that they can,” said his mother, Katie Penny.
Alex has an inherent form of muscular dystrophy that has no cure. He was diagnosed with Duchenne muscular dystrophy at 4 and uses a wheelchair. Penny said she noticed signs that her son was weak and unable to make it up stairs.
Unlike other forms of muscular dystrophy, Duchenne weakens muscles more rapidly.
“He tells me, of course, that he wishes he could walk and things like that, but he appreciates life and does what he can,” Penny said.
Seemingly shy, Alex is sure to greet everyone with a smile – especially Friday morning. It was the start of his wish being granted.
A black stretch limousine picked his family and him up from their home, taking them on a “Mission Impossible” robot-protocol journey that will last about a month.
Alex and his mother, 8-year-old sister, Morgan, and father, Ty, planned to spend Friday and today in the Seattle area seeing robots in action, helping people.
“I just thought of it,” Alex said about choosing robots. “I think they are cool.”
Friday morning, Alex helped police officers at Sea-Tac Airport, operating a robot named Andorf that checks for bombs.
He also is given the opportunity to use the da Vinci Si Surgical System robot at the Seattle Children’s Hospital; it is used to perform surgeries. Seattle Children’s is where Alex goes for treatments.
The family was staying in Seattle overnight and eating dinner at the top of the Space Needle. By the time they reached their hotel a little after 4 p.m., Alex was exhausted.
“It was really neat, and really overwhelming,” his mother said.
Today, Alex will see a robot that the Bellevue Police Department bomb squad and SWAT team use to respond to terrorism threats.
After that, the family will head to Microsoft and meet members of Team Xbot, a group of students from Franklin High School in Seattle who will be working on their competition robot.
No one, not even Alex’s parents, knew exactly what was in store for their son.
“I kind of know where we are going, but I have no idea what we are doing,” Penny said.
Chelsea Krotzer: 360-754-5476
ckrotzer@theolympian.com
theolympian.com/outsideoly
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