A little boy who suffers from refractory epilepsy was granted a trip of a lifetime to the moon – and he didn’t even have to leave the country.
Adelaide toddler Dwayne Franke has spent most of his young life in hospital, battling uncontrollable seizures almost daily.
The four-year-old was transformed into a miniature space-cadet and enjoyed an intergalactic adventure at Adelaide Airport in his own custom spaceship made inside a specially-chartered QantasLink Q300 aircraft.
Adelaide toddler Dwayne Franke (pictured) has spent most of his young life in hospital, battling uncontrollable seizures almost daily
The four-year-old was transformed into a miniature space-cadet and enjoyed an intergalactic adventure at Adelaide Airport in his own custom spaceship made inside a specially chartered QantasLink Q300 aircraft
It was the little boy’s simple wish to ‘go to the moon and the stars’.
And the team at the Make-A-Wish Foundation and Qantas organised the event and brought Dwayne’s epic fantasy to life.
He was over the moon when his day began meeting life-size Storm Troopers and Darth Vader, before being escorted through the terminals to ‘mission control’.
Clad in astronaut gear, Dwayne was greeted by a fanfare of cheering crowds as he boarded the aircraft and was given a tour of the cockpit.
His special spacecraft then took flight and the excited toddler was taken into a ‘lunar landscape’ complete with sand, moon rocks, futuristic projections and even Spiderman.
It was a dream come true for the young boy – and his parents – who have longed for an adventure outside hospital walls.
It was the little boy’s simple wish to ‘go to the moon and the stars’ (Dwayne pictured left and right)
And the team at the Make-A-Wish Foundation and Qantas organised the event and brought Dwayne’s epic fantasy to life
Clad in astronaut gear, Dwayne was given a tour of the cockpit
He was also greeted by a fanfare of cheering crowds as he boarded the aircraft
His mother Rebecca said her young son had the time of his life on his mission to the moon.
‘Dwayne is absolutely elated after the experience, he looked at the moon early this morning and said “I went there last night!”,’ she said.
‘It has been the most wonderful experience and our family will be forever grateful to Make-A-Wish and Qantas for making our little boy’s dream come true.’
Following his epic space-journey, Dwayne was admitted to hospital for a non-seizure related issue after cutting his lip.
Dwayne suffers from refractory epilepsy which means his seizures are generally resistant to medicine.
About one in three people who have epilepsy will develop refractory epilepsy.
He was over the moon when his day began with meeting life-size Storm Troopers and Darth Vader, before being escorted through the terminals to ‘mission control’
It was a dream come true for the young boy – and his parents – who have longed for an adventure outside hospital walls
His special spacecraft then took flight and the excited toddler was taken into a ‘lunar landscape’ (pictured) complete with sand, moon rocks, futuristic projections and even Spiderman
‘Dwayne is absolutely elated after the experience, he looked at the moon early this morning and said “I went there last night!”,’ his mother Rebecca said