JACKSONVILLE – For Jacob Lopez, life was a series of storms. At the age of 8, a car accident left him with a collapsed lung, five punctures in his bowel, a cranial fracture, a traumatic brain injury, a broken vertebra in his spine and a completely severed spinal cord. He spent nearly three weeks in a coma, and will likely spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair.

However, Saturday morning, as dark clouds bruised the sky, and thunder bellowed, it fell on deaf ears. All the sunshine in the world beamed from Jacob’s smile. As he rolled down the red carpet he danced and, for at least one day, no storm would dare rain on his parade.

Surrounded by his favorite story book and film characters, Jacob arrived on a fire truck early Saturday at the third annual Dream Day, a special celebration for local children with life threatening illnesses. As a collaboration between Dreams Come True of Jacksonville, a dream-granting organization for children with life-threatening illnesses, and PRI Productions, the event gave 50 local children a day to remember.

“It’s been an amazing experience,” said Maria Munoz of Argyle, Jacob’s mother. “He’s been so happy, waiting for this day for so long. We didn’t expect all of this, and when you come and see all these people cheering for him, it’s amazing. It’s such a beautiful experience for him and the other kids.”

Life was difficult for Jacob in the months following the car accident that nearly took his life. After six months of wound care and passing through the stages of brain recovery, his parents worried they’d never fully have their son back.

“Our hope was purely to get back that little boy,” said Bill Miller, Jacob’s father. “We know his attitude, we know his spirit, we know those special things about him, and if we could just get that part of him back, then the paralysis is manageable. We can take care of that.”

The biggest concern for the father was Jacob’s brain injury, which left him in a coma for three weeks. During this time even when he was out of the coma, Miller said, he wasn’t himself.

“With all of that, he’s a remarkable, resilient, happy, outgoing young man,” Miller said. “A little tired today, but he is an amazing kid. To come through what he has is just remarkable.”

Jacob, who was the final Dream Day guest, spent most of his day on the dance floor with a crowd of actors dressed as some of his favorite movie stars and cartoon characters, a completely different figure from the boy his parents saw in the hospital.

“Dream Day helped without a doubt,” Miller said. “We’ve had so much support throughout this time period. He was still in the hospital when they notified us that he’d been nominated, and received a dream. At that point things were still really up in the air for him, and to get something that big and that miraculous, just showed him the fun in life is still there, it’s still part of who you are.”

Dreamers like Jacob are the reason Dreams Come True and PRI Productions strive to create great memories like Dream Day, according Andrea Siracusa, senior manager of programs and community relations at Dreams Come True. When a child’s struggles do not end after a Dream, the organization tries to provide moments of joy that will lift their spirits and show them that our community cares.

“He is a wonderful example of how a child can live with a disability, and make everyone smile,” Siracusa said. “Throughout all of his suffering, his attitude has stayed positive and his ability to make the best of any situation is remarkable.”

In the future, Jacob will fulfill his dream of visiting every theme park at Walt Disney World. According to his father, Jacob’s dream was sponsored by Mandarin Middle School’s Dream Club, which has sponsored a child’s dream 20 years in a row. The family was welcomed to meet the sponsors in a party they through in Jacob’s honor.

“It makes them feel special that they feel no matter what it is we have the support,” Munoz said. “Seeing your child so happy, that’s enough for you, you have everything.”