GRAHAM, Washington -- Most little boys dream big for their birthdays. They hope for a new bike, a remote control car or a video game system.
But one Washington State boy has a much simpler wish for his upcoming ninth birthday. Bubby Everson just wants a little mail.
“He loves mail,” says Bubby’s mom Brandi McNerney-Everson. “Even if it’s junk mail, we give it to him and we say, ‘Here, Bubby, here’s your mail.’”
A simple card can make his day.
A card with stickers?
“If there are stickers in it, he loves it,” says Bubby’s dad Thomas Everson. “He’ll play with the stickers. He’ll put stickers all over the place.”
Bubby’s parents let him put those stickers anywhere he wants: on the walls, on the floors, on the windows. It is a reminder for them that each day he is able to do that means another day of life for their son.
Bubby contracted a virus at birth, Cytomegalovirus or CMV. Usually it’s harmless, but in very rare cases it can be devastating.
In Bubby’s case, doctors say it will be fatal and that it is only a matter of time.
Bubby uses cochlear implants to hear and wears casts on both feet to help with the scoliosis, when he’s not in his wheelchair.
But that is just the start of his troubles.
“The short list: autism, cerebral palsy, epilepsy, deafness, scoliosis,” says Thomas.
On a bad day, Bubby can have as many as 10 seizures and uses a homemade safe-space routinely.
“It’s very tough. I love him to death and I wouldn’t change him, but knowing that we could lose him at any time — that’s hard,” says Brandi.
Doctors can’t give his parents an exact date, but they know he will die well before his time.
And that brings us back to Bubby’s upcoming birthday. He turns 9 on Feb. 11 and his parents are hoping they’ll have mail they can give him on that special day.
Bubby’s parents know they must treat every birthday as if it will be the last they get to celebrate with their son.
“He’s happy and he’s loving and he’s caring and he’s a fighter,” says Brandi. “I don’t think he would be here if he wasn’t a fighter.”
Still, Brandi and Thomas don’t want to leave anything to chance on this birthday. That’s why they have begun asking everyone they meet if they would consider sending Bubby some mail for his special day.
They’ve set up a special post office box in their small town of Graham to collect what they receive — so that on the big day they might be able to shower their son in cards and stickers.
“We’re blessed,” says Brandi. “I’m so glad we have the child that we have, because we have the life that we have. And he’s amazing.”
If you would like to send a mail, cards, or stickers to Bubby for his birthday please consider sending them to the following address:
Bubby Everson
P.O. BOX 1142
Graham, WA 98338
The family is also trying to raise money for a special sensory room for Bubby. For more information on that, visit their online fundraising website.
A version of this story first appeared on the website of WTVR sister station KCPQ in Seattle, and it was distributed by Tribune Broadcasting.
