Interviews
In March, 11-year-old Maddie Paolero of Portsmouth, Rhode Island had a wish come true. It started to come together at the Dystonia Children's Symposium in Chicago in November 2004, where Maddie met actor Kirk Cameron. He spoke of his friend with dystonia, Melissa Centrella (daughter to President Claire), and her visits to the set of his television show, Growing Pains. Maddie made another friend that weekend at the Symposium: Jana Sherry, who lives in California.
When A Wish Come True, Inc. of Warwick, Rhode Island approached Maddie about granting her a wish, she didn't hesitate to tell them her wildest dream: to meet the cast of her favorite show, Drake & Josh, on the Nickelodeon channel. It was arranged for her to visit the set of the show in Los Angeles. Maddie, her brother AJ, her dad Tony, and me (her mom) had a once-in-a-lifetime day touring the sets of the show, watching the taping of several scenes, laughing with the cast and crew during bloopers, and visiting the wardrobe and make-up departments. All five members of Drake & Josh's TV family (Drake Bell, Josh Peck, Miranda Cosgrove, Jonathan Goldstein, and Nancy Sullivan) and the production staff, too, made Maddie feel welcome from the start. When it was time to leave, she had an autographed poster, script of the show, t-shirts, a hat, and other Nickelodeon merchandise to take home.
We gave Matt Devahl, the Production Coordinator for the Drake & Josh show, a copy of I Will Gallop and copies of Maddie's newspaper articles about her trip to the Children's Symposium. We also gave Miranda Cosgrove, the 11-yearold (same age as Maddie) actress who plays Megan on the show, a Follow the Brick Road dystonia t-shirt from the Children's Symposium.
Maddie looks forward to watching every episode of Drake & Josh, a light funny show for middle school aged kids. For at least 30 minutes, three times a week, her mind is off the challenges she faces. Maddie was diagnosed with early-onset generalized dystonia about five years ago. It started in one foot and has progressed to all of her limbs and the muscles in her mouth.
The dream vacation didn't stop there! Maddie also got to see her new friend, Jana Sherry in Los Angeles. Jana and her mother, Dena, met Maddie and our family at the Hard Rock Cafe at Universal Studios City Walk. After a fun lunch, we decided to visit Universal Studios together. The girls laughed all day, especially enjoying a live Animal Planet show.
Jana let Maddie try her new electric scooter and now we're saving up for one! There's always something to look forward to.
By Beth PaoleroBig thanks to Amazing Miranda!
