Dylan Wilkins receives community support

Katie Swift, Features Editor|February 23, 2017

  On Nov. 25 of this past year, LHS junior Dylan Wilkins flew to Spokane via Life Flight for what his family thought were lingering cold symptoms.  Instead, his hospital visit turned into an early detection of an extremely rare illness known as Acute Fluid Myelitis.
  The disease affects a person’s nervous system, specifically the spinal cord. This can cause the muscles and reflexes in the body to not work normally, according to the Fight for Dylan Facebook page.
  “I can’t move my neck very far to the side, and my left arm is going to take a while to heal,” Wilkins said.  “There’s no known treatment, so their only guess is that physical therapy will help to retrain my arm. I’m very weak now, so when I try to hold my arm up, my brain doesn’t send the signal to the muscle.”
  Wilkins played basketball before this incident happened and doctors diagnosed him with AFM. He had intentions to try out this year until this occurred, and said he will still try out next year as a senior. He has hopes to continue to improve and at least be able to dribble by next year’s tryouts.
  “(Physical therapy) is working,” Wilkins said in February, nearly three months after his diagnosis. “I can move my arm a little bit now. I’m still working toward holding it up.”
Typically, Thanksgiving is the most giving time of year, and for Wilkins, this year was nothing less than exceptional. The Lewiston-Clarkston community gathered together in a “Fight for Dylan” after the disease was discovered to help support Dylan and his family.
  “It’s amazing — I can’t even put it into words,” Wilkins said. “All the support from my family, my friends, and the community… People that have never met me have supported me through everything. I can’t thank everyone enough for what they’ve done for me.”
  The community showed their support for Wilkins through a raffle of a LG 65” 4K Smart TV in January. The TV was provided by Deranleau’s and Peak Physical Therapy, who partnered with the Lewiston basketball programs. Tickets for the raffle were priced at $10 for one and $25 for three.
  The winner of the raffle generously donated the TV back to Dylan and his family.