Boy with rare disorder has dream granted

UNION CITY, Tenn.—One local boy with an extremely rare disorder had his dream come true Friday, right in his own backyard.

Hudson Hayes is a six-year-old boy from Union City has a rare form of skeletal dysplasia syndrome. He is the only one in the world doctors have diagnosed with his specific mutation which makes his bones soft, and does not allow him to walk on his own.

The only time Hudson can play without restriction is in a swimming pool, and one local organization set out to give Hudson his freedom, one splash at a time.

The Hayes family came home to a crowd of their family, friends, and dozens of workers who helped build their son’s dream into reality.

“I loved it the swimming pool, I love it so much,” Hudson said.

“Very, very humbling to know that so many people came out to make this happen for us,” his mom Michelle said.

“It’s a dream come true, it really is, we were not expecting all this,” his dad Scotty said.

Hudson has a mutation in the B3GAT3 gene which produces a protein that helps support bones, joints, and ligaments. This has caused a number of side effects such as scoliosis, congenital heart disease, and it keeps him from walking on his own. But in a swimming pool, he can do almost anything without fear.

“He has been through so much and he can act like a normal kid with no restrictions in the pool,” Michelle said.

The Dream Factory in Dyersburg heard of Hudson’s story and decided to do everything they could to help Hudson.

“This is to me a miracle type dream, when you can give a child something that not only is their dream but it actually affects their ability to live like this does with him being in a swimming pool, it’s overwhelming,” area director Gayla Lane said.

Workers and volunteers from all around the Mid-South have been working day and night for three days to make Hudson’s dream into a reality so he play without boundaries.

They started around 11:30 Tuesday morning and were putting the finishing touches on right before his family arrived home.

The Dream Factory sent the Hayes family to Six Flags in St. Louis for the week while they worked through the rain and mud to finish the pool on time.

“It truly gives him the freedom, he is restricted to a chair most of the day you know, and he can just be free,” Scotty said.

Twenty-four different companies and organizations donated everything needed for the swimming pool, including a chair lift for Hudson, heaters, and furniture.