FAIRVIEW PARK, Ohio -- It’s been roughly 65 million years since dinosaurs last roamed the earth.
That’s probably how long Wednesday (Oct. 2) felt for Gilles-Sweet Elementary School first-grader Ezra Boggs, who had to wait until after school to see his brand-new, dinosaur-themed bedroom makeover for the first time.
Upon entering the room, Ezra said, “Whoa” followed by a sweet, “Thank you.”
The Fairview Park 6-year-old, who has a brain tumor, was selected by Special Spaces Cleveland in collaboration with “Jurassic World Live Tour” for the special treatment.
The local nonprofit is dedicated to changing children’s lives one bedroom at a time.
Special Spaces Cleveland Director Shari Caruso said Ezra was nominated by a Cleveland Clinic child life specialist as being a child who loves dinosaurs and has been diagnosed with cancer.
“This room has been an exciting one to plan,” Caruso said. “Ezra is having a one-of-a-kind bed built to look much like the Jurassic World R/C vehicle gyrosphere Rc. This is the vehicle used in the movie to travel through the park.
“As he lies in his bed, Ezra will see dinosaurs painted on his walls. The large rug on his floor is green to simulate the grass below the gyrosphere. Everything placed in the room will be to highlight this theme.”
When asked what part of the room he liked the best, Ezra said, “All of it.”
The dinosaur fun continues for the Boggs family this weekend when they take in the “Jurassic World Live Tour” appearing at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.
“Ezra is just so fascinated by dinosaurs, period,” said his mother, Sarra. “He’s always asking me these questions that I have no idea how to answer. He’s very inquisitive.”
She noted that the family had to keep Ezra, his brothers Niko and Isaac, as well as dad, Marc, out of the room over the weekend while the decorating was taking place.
“I hope this helps Ezra feel less isolated,” Sarra said. “I think sometimes he gets down because he’ll have to go to the hospital, and if he gets a fever he has to go to ER. Right now, he’s on chemo medicine that is temporary. He can’t really stay on it too long, so he needs to transition to a chemo pill.”
The next hurdle for Ezra is learning how to swallow pills. Sarra is optimistic that the bedroom makeover, along with a healthy dose of maturity, will do the trick.
“Having his own room is really exciting, because he’s getting older and he’s maturing fast,” Sarra said. “I think it’ll be kind of good for him to have his own independence.”
Regarding the bedroom makeover, Sarra said the notion of how it came together is tantamount to scientists using DNA to bring dinosaurs back from extinction.
“The whole thing is unbelievable and amazing,” Sarra said. “There’s just so much good out there. I’m speechless of the outpouring from the get go, even before the Special Spaces thing.
“The whole chemo end of it, we were worried about the stigma at first. You don’t want to tell people, but everyone is so supportive. Fairview is just an amazing community. Also, I hope that Special Spaces continue to grow and help decorate more kids’ bedrooms to give them the special space.”
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