Chicago Rush offering to help wheelchair-bound teen

Dylan Schaefer has spent his life bound to a wheelchair.

But for a few glorious moments next month, the 18-year-old sports fan will experience his longtime dream of being on a professional football field.

Chicago Rush officials have invited the recent Wheaton Warrenville South graduate to attend the Arena Football League team's final home game of the season on July 17. The organization contacted Dylan after an article about him appeared in the Daily Herald.

"Heck yeah," Dylan said of attending the Rush game. "I'm looking forward to it."

Mike Alzamora, a Rush spokesman, said members of the organization were touched by ongoing efforts to help Dylan's family appear on ABC-TV's "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition."

Supporters are lobbying to get the reality TV makeover because they say there simply isn't enough handicapped-accessible space in the family's Warrenville townhouse. Dylan is restricted to the living room where he eats, sleeps, watches TV and e-mails friends on his computer.

Denise Schaefer, Dylan's mother, said she would be happy if the family could simply afford to convert half of the garage into a bedroom for Dylan.

When Rush officials learned Dylan rarely leaves home, they came up with the idea of having him out at the Allstate Arena as a celebrity captain for a night and possibly delivering the game ball before kickoff.

Alzamora said Dylan is the kind of person who has a positive impact on the lives of everyone he meets.

"So if we can do something - even if it's just to put a smile on his face - by getting him out on the field before the game, then I think we're doing a good thing," Alzamora said.

While nothing has been finalized yet, the team also is trying to put together a plan to help the family raise some of the money it needs to make home improvements.

"We just couldn't believe that they wanted to do this," Denise Schaefer said. "We were kind of shocked. We didn't expect this."

Meanwhile, Brandon Andrews, one of Dylan's friends, said the Facebook page he created on Dylan's behalf now has more than 3,500 followers. At least one person already has volunteered to provide transportation for Dylan.

"I am hoping for the best," Andrews said. "If (the TV show) doesn't come through, I have people who want to donate money and stuff like that. Support is rising every day."