STUDENT AID PLAYS GENIE TO GRANT DISABLED BOY'S WISH OF AIRPLANE RIDE

Todd Sides, a sophomore at Jackson High School, has osteopetrosis a rare bone disease that causes them easily break and retards growth. Sides is also blind.

Sides does his schoolwork by braille via computer.

Sides got to sit in an airplane earlier this month, but the strong wind forced the flight to be postponed.

Donna Rushing of Jackson has dedicated her time and love to help make a boy's wish of flying in a airplane come true.

Rushing, who is a student aid, has been working with Jackson schools for the past 10 years and for the last three she has been working with Todd Sides.

Jackson High School sophomore Todd Sides has osteopetrosis, a rare bone disease that causes bones to easily break and retards growth. There is only one other case of osteopetrosis in the U.S. and three or four other cases in the entire world.

Sides was born blind and is losing his hearing from the disease. He has been in a wheelchair for the past four years because his bones can no longer hold his weight.

All of Sides medical treatment is received at St. Jude Hospital in Memphis. The treatments are free through the hospital. Lately, Sides has been going to the hospital every two weeks.

Rushing's work involves doing all of Sides' writing for his classes. Sides is in all the mainstream curriculum classes, except algebra. She also helps transport him around school. Rushing also transfers Sides' tests and worksheets into braille via computer.

Rushing said that she gets attached to the students she works with. "I'm part mom, part nurse and part teacher," she said, "I get very close to my students."

Rushing has known Sides for eight years. "He has a really neat personality," Rushing said. "He has a great sense of humor and loves to have people tell him jokes. On his 16th birthday he asked for a wild blonde since he didn't need a car. He got one of those blow-up dolls."

Sides has many different hobbies. "I like to ride four-wheelers, talk on the phone and go camping," he said. "I like typical teenager stuff."

He also likes to listen to football and basketball games on the radio and attend country concerts.

Sides has a wish: he wants to fly. He hopes to do this by going up in an airplane. Rushing has a mission to get Sides airborne and she is very close to achieving her goal.

Sides said there is not a particular reason that an airplane ride is at the top of his wish list. "I've always wanted to fly in a plane," he said. "I think it would be fun and interesting.

"One of my wishes used to be to ride in a limo, but some friends of mine who got married had a limo so I got a ride. Another wish I have is to ride in a helicopter. I think it would be neat."

Rushing's knowledge of Side's wish came about through a language arts class assignment back in October. The assignment involved writing about what they would want if they could have three wishes.

Sides' first wish was to go up in an airplane, the second was not to be blind and in a wheelchair and the third was to win the lottery.

"As I was writing these down for him," said Rushing, "I began to think about the airplane ride. My husband used to fly planes and knew several people who flew.

"At home that night I asked him about it. He said he thought we could probably work out an airplane ride for Todd."

Since Sides 16th birthday was coming up on March 22, Rushing thought an airplane ride would be a good present. Sides' parents, Terry and Cheryl Sides of Leemon, liked the idea, but Rushing decided to wait to tell him about the plane ride until all the details were worked out.

Rushing said that she is always doing things for Sides, but she really wanted to help grant one of his wishes. "I thought how neat it was that an airplane ride was all he really wanted," Rushing said. "I thought that this was something I could do."

The events leading to Sides' plane ride have taken place over several months and have involved a lot of people working together.

To grant the wish car parts have been bartered for a plane ride. Last May Michael Rushing, Donna Rushing's husband, went to the car races in North Carolina. He brought back the rear quarter panel and the back bumper of Rusty Wallace's car, which Wallace had autographed.

Michael Rushing was able to get the parts through a friend of his who does body work for Penske on the Rusty Wallace No. 2 car.

Rushing and her husband brought the parts back from North Carolina and stored them in their garage.

In October Sides wrote his paper on his three wishes, and Rushing tried to think of a way to grant the wish.

In February, nine months after bringing the parts back from North Carolina, Rushing's husband traded the parts with Pete Poe, manager of Drury Lodge. Poe will be displaying the parts in the Drury Lodge Lounge in the future.

In exchange, Poe would make sure Sides got an ride in the Drury airplane and make a donation at St. Jude Hospital in Memphis.

"The week before his birthday," Rushing said, "I told Todd about the plan and asked him if he still wanted to go up. He was excited and really wanted to do it."

The trip was planned the day before his birthday, but a windy snow storm postponed the trip. The trip was rescheduled for the first week in April, but when everyone arrived at the airport it was too windy to fly.

"But he did get to sit in the plane," Rushing said. "The pilot, Mike Ford, was really kind and let Todd ask questions, listen to the radio and feel all the instruments."

Sides said that he was really surprised when he learned about the airplane ride. "I wish it would hurry up and happen," he said. "I think that I will really like the ride. However, I don't think I'd want to fly on a windy day."

Sides will be taking his 9-year-old brother Ryan along in the plane ride. Sides said that he wishes to thank everyone that was involved in making the flight possible.

As soon as the weather cooperated Sides will have one of his wishes granted, a ride in an airplane.