About a week ago, a handsome young boy in a powered wheelchair came up to meet us after the show. He just wanted to say hello and thank us for the fun entertainment. He didn’t discuss the reason for his mobile chair, but with a big smile asked lots of questions about the show. In the few brief moments that we chatted with him we could tell he was a very special boy, wise beyond his 10 years of age.
Today we received the following email and photo from Eric Nave and were so impressed with his desire to help other kids, that we thought we’d share his story on our website as to perhaps inspire our readers to get on board with his proposal as we plan to do.
The definition of the word “Nave” is “the hub or center of a wheel.” In physics, the hub is where the power to turn the wheel originates. We think this 10 year old boy with the last name “Nave,” is generating a great deal of power that will radiate outwards across the country and keep the wheel rolling towards a cure for Muscular Dystrophy.
Dear Mr. Jim Barber,
My name is Eric, and I’m 10 years old. I went to your show in Branson last week, and I met you after the show. I had a great time. I couldn’t believe it the way you made all of those puppets talk. I really liked the baby. I still don’t know how you did all that. Thank you for making it so easy for me to get around in my power chair. I didn’t have any problems getting around.
I have Duchene’s Muscular Dystrophy and my muscles are sick. Sometimes I get frustrated because I can’t do things that I used to be able to. Last year I could walk, not far, but still I could walk. Now, sometimes I have a hard time just standing up. Also, it’s getting harder to raise my arms very high and I need a lot more help opening things. I try not to worry about the future because God will provide for me. I pray that one day the doctors and research people will find a cure so my muscles will be better, and then maybe I could do some of the things that everybody else does. Research costs a lot of money. I think it’s like $80 a minute. The telethon is coming up and I’m trying to let people know that whatever they can do to help would be great. My mom says she thinks you’ve been on the telethon before and thank you for that. Here is the local address for my MDA office:
MDA San Antonio
8610 Broadway, Suite 200
San Antonio, TX 78217
Phone: 210-650-3181
If you want to make a donation, you can mail it to them or you can call them to do it on a credit card. It’s okay if you’re not able to, but please pray for all of the people who need some help.
Thanks! Eric Nave – Converse, TX
Thank you Eric, for your kind and generous spirit. It was our honor to meet you and your family and we look forward to crossing paths again one day soon.
For more information about Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy and how you can help, please visit the Official MDA Website.
Please visit Hamner Barber for the original article: http://www.hamnerbarber.com/2009/07/26/meet-the-remarkable-10-year-old-eric-nave/