Caleb’s Story

As told by his mother

I thought skating with my son was a dream I had to let go. 

Caleb was born with a genetic condition called Kabuki Syndrome. The doctors told us when he was one year old that he may never walk, talk, or eat on his own. After hearing this news, I grieved over the likelihood of missing a lot of things that I had wanted to do with him.

One of the things that hit me the hardest was that we might never be able to ice skate together. 

My dad’s side of the family is from Canada, so all of the kids grew up ice skating and playing hockey for at least the past three generations. Some of my first memories are of the ice rink. I was young and small enough to stand between my dad’s legs, holding on to each of his legs as he slowly skated us around the ice.

I wanted Caleb to share in that tradition and make similar memories. But after hearing the prognosis, there was a pretty strong chance that it wouldn’t happen.

Then came WinterFest with A Kid Again. 
When we went to WinterFest at Carowinds, the ice skating rink was open and they had plastic whales that small children could sit on.

I had never seen anything like them. I quickly got us skates and had Caleb sit on the whale. I took a slow lap around the rink – and Caleb loved it.

As I realized how much fun he was having, it hit me that because of A Kid Again, we were provided an opportunity that I never thought possible.

We FaceTimed my parents to show them that Caleb was ice skating, and they were so excited to see how much fun the entire family was having together.

Why A Kid Again means so much to my family…
We love the organization, and its Adventures have always been a highlight of each year. But that day on the ice was more than just a fun outing – it was a dream restored. A memory I thought we’d lost.