Paulding County

Hospitalized 12-year-old gets special Halloween replay from neighbors

David Dakake, 12, will be released from the hospital on Wednesday, Nov. 2, 2016. And that night, he’ll be able to trick-or-treat in his Paulding County neighborhood. (Family photo)

PAULDING COUNTY, Ga. — A 12-year-old boy with special needs has been in the hospital for two weeks and learned he wouldn't be released until Wednesday afternoon: two days after Halloween, his favorite day of the year.

That did not stop his Paulding County mother from making his wish of trick-or-treating come true.

On Monday afternoon, mother LeAnn Dakake had an idea and went on social media to help spread the word.

The Dakakes had just moved into their Seven Hills home not even two weeks prior and figured Facebook was the best place to go.

“If anyone would be open to us bringing him by Wednesday night for a makeup trick or treating stop, please let me know,” LeAnn posted on a neighborhood Facebook page. “A few houses is all he needs and he will be so happy!”

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Hoping that they could maybe find 10 homes in the area that would keep up decorations a few days after Halloween, the response they got was absolutely heartwarming.

LeAnn tells Channel 2 Action News she received nearly 60 comments within an hour of her post about her son David.

Of those people who responded, all of them offered their homes for David to visit for the following day.

“There are people texting me every five minutes,” LeAnn said. "We don't even know these people. It's truly amazing."

David was adopted from Latvia when he was a toddler; he had been born at 24 weeks and survived in a country with third-world-like medicine at the time. He has been with the Dakakes since 2007 and is the youngest of 10 children.

LeAnn tells Channel 2 Action News David is 12 now and has a mild form of cerebral palsy that affects his legs. Despite that, he walks, runs and dances at CKDanceworks in a few of their hip-hop and special needs dance classes -- just like his two older brothers have done for almost 12 years.

LeAnn explains that David is also profoundly deaf, but with new hearing aids this last year, he has regained a lot of his hearing and he reads lips and knows ASL.

The Dakake family has been overwhelmed, but says the outpouring of support has been an inspiration.

A man with an antique fire truck offered to help David get to various homes in the sprawling neighborhood.

Then another person suggested setting up a trunk-or-treat for David. By Tuesday morning, several volunteers were organizing an event larger than what LeAnn could have imagined.

“This is something bigger than just David," LeAnn said. "There’s a need somewhere for something. There’s going to be more after this. This is the first chapter of this book.”

The fun begins for David on Wednesday at 6 p.m. on the 7000 block of Dallas Acworth Highway.

If you'd like to help, you can fill out the form here to open your house up for trick-or-treating.