Parents Turn Son's Wheelchair Into Elaborate Halloween Costumes

When Halloween night rolls around, all eyes in Melrose Park, Illinois, will be on Anthony Alfano.

The 8-year-old has cerebral palsy and gets around in a wheelchair, but that hasn’t stopped him from being the town’s king of Halloween.

Each year, Anthony’s parents make him an elaborate Halloween costume that incorporates his wheelchair.

This year, Anthony will be his favorite game show, “Wheel Of Fortune.”

“We watch it every night in our house with Anthony,” his mother, Deanna Alfano, told InsideEdition.com. “He loves hearing the alphabet, but he has a love for most game shows.”

Anthony Alfano and his parents with his "Wheel Of Fortune" costume. (Photo: Deanna Alfano)
Anthony Alfano and his parents with his "Wheel Of Fortune" costume. (Photo: Deanna Alfano)

To make the costume, the Alfanos used a PVC board, a foam wheel and LED lights so the costume lights up in the dark.

“Since he’s in the wheelchair, we look for things for sitting,” his mother said.

Anthony’s costumes have grown more elaborate each year.

Last year, he was a Lincoln Memorial snow globe.

Anthony dressed up as a Lincoln Memorial snow globe for Halloween last year. (Photo: Deanna Alfano)
Anthony dressed up as a Lincoln Memorial snow globe for Halloween last year. (Photo: Deanna Alfano)

Another year he was a jockey.

Anthony's jockey costume from a previous Halloween. (Photo: Deanna Alfano)
Anthony's jockey costume from a previous Halloween. (Photo: Deanna Alfano)

The Alfanos have been dressing up Anthony for the holiday since he was just a baby.

He dressed as Elvis for his first Halloween, complete with sunglasses, sideburns and a bedazzled onesie. Other costumes have included Pinocchio and a hockey goalie.

“People started really responding to Anthony’s costumes and expecting it every year,” Deanna Alfano told InsideEdition.com last year. “My husband growing up was really into Halloween so it just kind of snowballed.”

The Alfanos insist the holiday is one night when Anthony can really be like everyone else.

“Halloween is just a day when we can just stop looking at the actual wheelchair and look at the boy in the costume,” Deanna Alfano told ABC Chicago last year.

Her husband, Tony Alfano, added: “He’s not going to be our superstar baseball player. He’s just going to be the kid on Halloween that people are going to remember. ... And that’s what I want to do.”

Love HuffPost? Become a founding member of HuffPost Plus today.

Also on HuffPost

Beetlejuice

Mary Poppins

The Obamas (And Secret Service)

Batman Villains

Pokemon Go

Alice in Wonderland

Starbucks

Stranger Things

Vending Machines

Goldilocks and the Three Bears

Rock, Paper, Scissors

Jaws

Twin Peaks

Snow White and the Evil Queen

Star Wars

Loonette the Clown and Molly Dolly

Peter Pan

Rosie The Riveter

Ghostbusters

Cinderella

Game of Thrones

Mario Kart

Scooby-Doo

Frozen

Minions

The Wizard of Oz

Popeye

Rockford Peaches

Monsters, Inc.

The Little Mermaid

Thomas the Tank Engine and Sir Topham Hatt

Little House on the Prairie

Where The Wild Things Are

"Thriller" Music Video

101 Dalmatians

This article originally appeared on HuffPost.

Advertisement