Dream come true: Boy savors Make-A-Wish day with sea turtles at Loggerhead Marinelife Center

JUNO BEACH — An Alabama child with a form of muscular dystrophy who longed to visit with sea turtles had his wish granted by two South Florida nonprofits that helped bring him to Palm Beach County shores.

Make-A-Wish Southern Florida and Loggerhead Marinelife Center partnered to bring the Richards family of Florence, Alabama to the Palm Beaches to fulfill the dream of 12-year-old Gabe, who has a rare form of the genetic muscular wasting disease known as limb girdle muscular dystrophy.

“I feel special because I get to see them right in front of me,” Gabe told a Make-A-Wish camera crew. “I got to stand right in front of them.”

Why sea turtles?

Gabe became fascinated with the marine creatures during a trip a few years ago to a resort in Mexico, said Gabe’s mother, Brittany Richards.

While there, the family heard that there would be a sea turtle hatchling release on the beach next to the resort. Gabe was able to get hands-on, placing turtles on the beach and watching them scramble toward the water.

“Ever since then, he’s been like, ‘Mom, can we do that again?’ ” Brittany Richards said.

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Loggerhead tour took family to places few patrons go

When the family first looked into Make-A-Wish, it seemed like most people went on a Disney vacation, she said.

“We wanted to do something unique and one-of-a-kind,” she said, adding, “We love Disney, but we can pay to do that. We can’t pay to go behind the scenes at the turtle hospital and do what we did.”

Because Gabe and his family are from Alabama, his experience in South Florida is what is known as a “wish assist,” where a Make-A-Wish chapter helps another to fulfill a child’s wish outside their area, said Norman Wedderburn, president and CEO of Make-A-Wish Southern Florida.

“We’re an interesting community because of where we’re located,” Wedderburn said, pointing to South Florida’s proximity to theme parks, number and variety of sports teams, and access to the beach and marine experiences.

“We want to make sure that the wish experience is amazing,” Wedderburn said, “regardless of where they’re coming from.”

Loggerhead opened its doors July 27 to Gabe, his parents and 10-year-old sister, Arabella. The Richards family was given a behind-the-scenes tour in areas where few visitors are allowed.

Inside Loggerhead’s sea turtle hospital, the Richards family were given a lesson on some of the challenges faced by sea turtle hatchlings by Heather Barron, Loggerhead’s chief science officer and veterinarian.

Peering into bins of tiny turtles, Gabe’s face glowed with awe.

“I just like how they flop, and they flappy-and-floppy around the beach,” Gabe said.

With Gabe and Arabella donning Loggerhead shirts with the words “Hospital Intern” on the back, the family went outside to view the more mature sea turtles rehabilitating in individual tanks. Gabe fed several turtles, including one that snacked on romaine lettuce and another gobbled down baitfish.

Beach walk included up-close look at turtle nesting

The night before their tour, the family experienced one of Loggerhead’s sea turtle walks, where they witnessed a massive loggerhead sea turtle muscle her way up the beach to make a nest.

During a guided sea turtle walk, people learn about how sea turtles nest, said Jack Bliss, Loggerhead’s assistant manager of programs. If a nesting turtle is spotted during the program, visitors can walk to the beach to get a first-hand look at how nesting works.

“We got to be really up close and personal,” Brittany Richards said. “Gabe’s face was, I don’t even know, it felt like he was inches from the eggs that were dropping.”

Even a downpour couldn’t keep the family from their encounter. When it started raining, Gabe helped by holding a red light, the only color allowed around sea turtles at night because it does not disorient them. The family watched as the turtle completed her nest and went back to the Atlantic Ocean.

“The team said Gabe was excited and over the moon to be in the front row of that whole process,” Bliss said.

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Loggerhead and Make-A-Wish have worked together several times over the past few years, Bliss said.

“It’s a really nice collaboration because of the facility we have, and the programs that we operate,” Bliss said. “It just gives kids a wonderful experience to try something that’s completely new or really give them the opportunity to kind of dive into marine science and sea turtle rehab and learn about the ocean.”

Gabe and his family visited Loggerhead at an exciting time, Bliss said. The research team there reports a record-setting number of nests already this season, which has several weeks left.

“That number is still skyrocketing, and it’s just so exciting to have him be here when things are so busy and our research is really working full-force,” Bliss said. “He got to come at the peak of it all.”

Visit made career as marine scientist seem 'feasible'

For a child like Gabe who has such a keen interest in sea turtles, the partnership between Make-A-Wish and Loggerhead is perfect, Bliss said.

“He got to learn from staff and volunteers who are so passionate,” Bliss said. “In my mind, I think what makes that so unique for a child that’s going through a critical illness is that they can connect those dots and see that working in this profession and becoming a marine scientist is feasible. It’s a dream that he can really chase down.”

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The family spent about a week in South Florida, where they stayed at a resort in Boca Raton and visited Florida Power & Light Co.’s Manatee Lagoon in Riviera Beach. They took an airboat tour of the Everglades where they saw alligators in the wild, and got a behind-the-scenes tour of a small animal park, where Gabe and Arabella held a baby alligator.

The family also planned a kayak trip through John D. MacArthur Beach State Park in Palm Beach Gardens, and Arabella and Brittany Richards went on a mother-daughter scuba dive.

Maintaining relationships with other local nonprofits is pivotal to fulfilling each child’s wish, Wedderburn said.

“One of the things that I always say about Make-A-Wish is that I truly believe we are owned by the community itself,” he said. “The community are the shareholders of Make-A-Wish. We couldn’t do this without the people who volunteer, the people who work for us, the people who donate to us.”

That engagement helps the organization continue to accomplish its mission, he said.

“We always look for the opportunity to work with other not-for-profits who understand what we do,” Wedderburn said. “These types of wishes like Gabe’s, which are unique experiences, we can rely on other not-for-profits. And they did it in just such an amazing way.”

Bliss concurred.

“Being able to accommodate Gabe and just ensure that he has the best experience and learns from staff and volunteers … it allows our staff to just really live in the moment of, hey, this is an opportunity to give this kid an extra-special night and make sure he gets as good of an experience with an educational focus as possible.”

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Loggerhead Marinelife Center fulfills Make-A-Wish boy's sea turtle dream