BY MARGIE DIGIOVANNI
ELMORE/AUTAUGA NEWS
TOP PHOTO: CHARLIE MAE, AS A BABY.
Last year, Charlie Mae went with her family to the Pumpkin Patch in preparation for Halloween. Charlie did not enjoy the day trip because she is in a wheelchair and getting around the farm setting proved too difficult.
Hannah, Charlie’s mom, decided to make this year special for her daughter and for any special needs children who want to attend A Very Special Fall Festival in Plantersville, Alabama on Saturday, Oct. 23. The address is 171715 County Rd 16, Plantersville, AL .
The initial plan was to keep the festival small, but the Wilson family decided to open it to more of the public.
Set up for easy access is a key to this event, whether a child can walk or uses a wheelchair. There will be a petting zoo, arts and crafts, hayrides, face painting, a food truck with free food for the children, pumpkins, and games.
Unlike most festivals, this one is strictly for special needs kids of all ages. Charlie is five-years-old and already she has a book written about her life. Called ‘Charlie Mae’s First Day,’ it tells of her first day in kindergarten. Hannah wanted other children to understand that although Charlie may be in a wheelchair, she is a little girl who loves, laughs, and lives every day to her fullest capacity.
Charlie Mae was born with an SMC1A mutation in the genes. There are about one hundred such children documented worldwide. The one commonality in all of them is intractable epilepsy. Some are non-verbal, as is Charlie. Others walk and eat by mouth. Charlie uses a feeding tube.
Today, Charlie is an active member of the Kids’ Crew of the Epilepsy Foundation. She enjoys letting people know about epilepsy. She completes schoolwork at home and attends weekly therapy. Looking to the future, she intends to participate in special needs baseball this fall. Her favorite playmate is her sister, Parker, a rambunctious little girl who dearly loves big sis.
Charlie knows it is late to invite people, but she hopes if parents of special needs children hear about this festival in time, that they will enjoy it with her. She passed along a special invitation to The Little Witch Who Waits, but alas, the little witch is cleaning her rocking chair and porch to be ready for the trick or treaters of Halloween. She did promise to plan for next year if Charlie and her family hold the festival again.
The Very Special Fall Festival takes place at 2 p.m. on Saturday, 10/23/2021. The location is 171715 County Rd 16, Plantersville, AL 36758.
To enjoy Charlie’s book, go to http://www.charliemaesfirstday.com/ to learn more about this remarkable little girl.
