Ailing Boy’s Dream of Flying in Helicopter Fulfilled at El Toro : Philanthropy: Make-A-Wish Foundation arranged for the air base tour and flight for the seriously ill child.

Tommy Hoefler can’t speak much these days because he suffers from neurofibromatosis, a crippling illness that is more commonly known as “Elephant Man’s” disease. Yet even in silence, it was clear to those around him that the 7-year old La Mirada boy always dreamed of one day flying in a military helicopter.

“His eyes lit up as he pointed to a poster of a helicopter,” said Aileen Foster of the Make-A-Wish Foundation. “When Tommy took one of our volunteers to his room, there was no doubt what he wanted to do most in the world.”

So it was that on Saturday afternoon, despite blustery and windy conditions, Tommy took to the skies in a CH-46 transport helicopter out of the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station. Accompanying the small-framed child was the Marine’s top officer--Gen. Carl E. Mundy Jr., who flew in from the Pentagon on Saturday to attend to other business and fly with Tommy.

As they soared above Orange County, Tommy’s eyes wandered between his father and the landscape below, and he smiled.

“He loves helicopters,” said the boy’s father, Phillip, 42, of La Mirada. “He’s very happy about this ride.”

Tommy has a disease in which tumors have attacked his nervous system, limiting his muscle control and his speech, said Foster, who manages the Inland Empire chapter of the Make-A-Wish Foundation. “It’s almost impossible for him to speak.” The disease is generally considered fatal, and Foster said it is uncertain whether the boy will live out the year.

The gap-toothed youth was first given a grand tour of the aviation museum at the El Toro air base, housing vintage planes and helicopters. At the end of the tour, almost on cue, a small white jet arrived with Mundy aboard to meet the boy.

“Look, look,” said Tommy, struggling to get everyone’s attention.

As he waited for Mundy to disembark, the youngster was given a Marine Corp watch and a jacket with an insignia that read “Knightriders,” the nickname of the CH-46 transport helicopters used in the Gulf War.

“Do you want to grow up to be a Marine pilot?” the general said to Tommy, who nodded his head in approval. “Well, let’s give you your first lesson.”

As Tommy entered the giant green helicopter, he looked up at the tail rotor in amazement and slowly entered the dark confines of the chopper. He didn’t seem intimidated at all as he flashed his first smile of the day.

During the ride, he was shown the cockpit and sat with the pilot as they flew to Oceanside and back at a height of 500 feet.

“He was all smiles,” said Jo Rowe Kirby of the Make-A-Wish Foundation. “He loved it.”

Mundy said it was the first time he had ever participated in making a wish come true for someone afflicted with a serious disease.

“When I heard about this good little boy’s wish, I had to come,” he said. “He’s fighting a life-threatening disease.”

Tommy is one of 98 children chosen this year by the Inland Empire region of the organization, which is one of more than seven dozen worldwide chapters of Make-A-Wish Foundation. Finances for the foundation are raised individually by each chapter.

The Make-A-Wish Foundation was started in 1980 in Phoenix by the mother of a 7-year-old leukemia victim who dreamed of becoming an Arizona state trooper.

“She was so touched by her son’s wish-come-true experience she wanted others to benefit,” Foster said. “So she started the foundation.”

Foster said most of the requests by children are for full-expense-paid trips to places like Disneyland and Hawaii--or for unforgettable requests like Tommy’s helicopter ride.

“This past summer a 4-year-old wanted to ride the monster truck Grave Digger,” Foster said. “He was a real fan of Grave Digger so we sent him to Salinas, Calif., to the national event.”

Before the races, the child got a ride in the huge truck. Afterward, the driver walked up to the seats of the family and picked him up. Then, over the public address system, officials introduced the child as the grand marshal while 15,000 people gave a standing ovation.

“His mother told us as they marched him around the arena on their shoulders, he did his parade wave and had a huge smile from ear to ear,” Foster said. “The whole town made him their little mascot for the weekend. His mom told us he thought he was the most special child in the whole world, and it’s a memory she would always cherish.”

On Saturday at El Toro air field, with his own crowd of onlookers cheering him on, Tommy Hoefler found out that he, too, is the most special child in the world.