ARVADA, Colo. — In Olde Town Arvada, Halloween came a bit early Saturday night, as dozens donned elaborate costumes to trick-or-treat down the main block.
At the front of the pack was 5-year-old Jaxon Baumgard, a boy who has been battling cancer most of his life.
“He always smiles. He laughs, he loves running, jumping. He’s amazing,” says his mother, Amber. “You would have never known he had cancer until the last week.”
Earlier this year, doctors told his family he likely wouldn’t see his 6th birthday, so they wanted to make sure his final Halloween was special. However, designing a creative costume to accommodate his wheelchair proved no easy task.
That’s where a non-profit based more than 600 miles away comes into play.
Walkin’ and Rollin’ Costumes designs custom costumes for kids in wheelchairs. The only problem: they’re in Kansas City.
“Jaxon’s mother sent in a request and explained how Jaxon was on hospice, and this was going to be his last Halloween,” says Creator Lon Davis. “I looked at the request, I showed it to my wife and she read it, and looked at me and said, ‘Well, we’re making it.’ There was no doubt that we were going to make it.”
With the help of some volunteers, they built the costume in just one week, driving it overnight from Kansas City to Arvada in time for some Saturday night trick-or-treating.
Local businesses opened their doors and handed out candy, making sure Jaxon didn’t miss one of his favorite holidays.
“It’s hard to describe the impact these costumes have for these kids,” says Davis.
Jaxon’s mom Amber gave it a shot.
“I think it’s incredible,” she said.
A GoFundMe account has been established for Jaxon’s family.