To play a ‘tornado’ in ‘Yellowstone,’ Kelly Reilly became as obsessive as her fans. (Pixabay/Comstock/Getty Images)
At the start of the week, they were just your average parents. The parents of a 5-year-old boy named Max, who lost his hearing last year thanks to two middle ear infections and tubes.
But on Monday, the parents of an 8-year-old named Logan, who has autism and a hearing loss, took to Facebook to declare that each day Max was like the birthday of their child, and to ask for as much help as possible. That they also would host a party in their home in California to help Logan feel more normal.
At 11 a.m., an 8-year-old boy named Logan who has autism told his mom that the party wouldn’t be a party, but a funeral.
‘People do not understand how serious autism is,’ Logan’s mother, Katie, wrote. ‘How much he tries and tries and tries, and how lucky we are to have another beautiful life. We would like to help bring a little of Logan to you and Max.’
In the hours that followed, they went from a birthday party to a funeral, and a lot of people left comments. Their social media posts quickly went viral, with the mother of Logan, Katie, writing, ‘I love you. We are coming as soon as possible to join you. We will pray for you and for Logan and each other.’
Their fans also started a GoFundMe page to help pay for the event. They raised more than $3,000 for the $50,000-plus cost the family has spent on private school for Logan, a private one-on-one therapy for his autism and travel to conferences where a hearing specialist will help with Logan’s hearing loss.
Logan’s public hearing is set for 2 p.m. on April 4, which comes as a rude shock after months of parents telling media outlets that they thought they would lose their child after the first of the year.
Max’s father, Ryan, first posted an update on Twitter on Monday morning: ‘Hello everyone. We are now in the process of making plans to fly to Chicago, meet these parents and take my children and their kids to see the amazing things they are going to learn and see.’
His first tweet of the morning included a hashtag for his son to tell his