Halloween is in the rear view, but two very sweet pics arrived in the Navy Times inbox that require sharing.
These images show Addie, the 7-year-old daughter of Senior Chief Air Traffic Controller (AW/SW) Kevin Kruse and Wendy McCoy Kruse, decked out in an aircraft carrier costume.
Addie, in aquaflage no less, serves as the ship’s island while the rest of the flattop is built around her wheelchair.
“The sounds of ‘Anchors Aweigh’ playing as she strolled the neighborhood in the USS Addie made for the best Halloween ever!” Wendy wrote in a message to Navy Times.
The Navy spouse is president of the Military Special Needs Network, an organization aimed at supporting military families with special needs children.
Addie has quadriplegic cerebral palsy, and her mother hopes her daughter is a role model for other families.
“The whole purpose of it was to inspire others who have children with disabilities. They can have just as much fun on Halloween as any child,” Wendy said.
The family lives in San Diego. Past assignments for dad include the aircraft carriers John C. Stennis and Carl Vinson.
It took two weeks to build Addie’s costume, which also included model planes and flight deck lighting.
Sadly, not everyone enjoyed the costume. In a blog post, Wendy relays an incident at school where another mom made a stink about the costume. She said it was taking too much attention away from the other kids and their costumes.
“You can either politely smile and say, ‘I’m sorry you feel that way,’ or go from zero-to-mama-bear in 30 seconds. Although not one of my finer moments, I chose the latter,” Wendy writes. “I explained that, although Addie uses a wheelchair, that doesn’t mean she can’t have fun for Halloween, despite her disabilities. How for one day out of the year, Addie gets to experience what it feels like to be a rock star.”
5 Comments
Mom, don’t worry about being a momma bear, the other lady was just jealous that your children had a wonderful costume. Enjoy those great moments with your daughters. My husband is in a wheelchair and people say and do awful things. We are happy and that is all that matters . May God bless you and your family.
Congrats Addie. Your a major hit with this mom. My dad is also USN Ret. Sweetheart, don’t let anyone else tell you that you can’t. Just prove them wrong okay. Your Costume is absolutely Amazing. I’m sure your Daddy had a lot of work with Mommy into that costume & I’m sure you were very proud to wear it. I’m glad you had a ball for Halloween. And Wendy, as parent’s we have a trigger that goes off when it’s “Our Kids” & I’m sure I would of done the same thing. We are Human & we make mistake’s. Just remember that & keep pushing forward. The work you do for kids with disabilities is important work. Keep it up. Hey Dad. Great Work. You make this USN Brat Proud. 🙂
I can’t believe a parent could be so pathetic as to think that way about a child’s costume. I love it! Way to go dad and mom and Addie! 🙂
Addie and Mr. and Mrs. Kruse,
I wanted to tell you how awesome I thought your Halloween costume was. I am currently calling the USS George Washington (CVN 73) home, and I get launched off the front of and land on the back of this amazing ship at least once a day while I’m at sea. Thank you for thinking enough about what we do out here to make my temporary home your Halloween costume!
Warmest regards and Fly Navy!,
LCDR Rob Waterston
Dear Addie & Mr. & Mrs. Kruse,
Just wanted to add my thumbs up for your wonderful costume. As far as the snarky comments, remember a phrase that is my dad’s (USN Captain Bob McGinnis, ret.) favorite…Non Illegitimi Carborundum (don’t let the b@$+@rds get ya). I’m proud to call you all part of the military family!
Sincerely,
Capt. Kate McGinnis (USAF)