Wyoming residents Chad Morley (left) and Cassandra Morley (right) made Halloween special for their 9-year-old son, Payton, when Chad built an elaborate “Polar Express” engine, complete with battery-operated light and smokestack, to fit around Payton’s wheelchair for the annual Wyoming Elementary School parade. Payton has Hunter’s syndrome, a rare, terminal genetic disorder that affects movement and brain development, and Chad, who works on airplanes at St. Cloud Aviation, views his annual work on a wheelchair-based costume based on one of his son’s favorite movies as a way for Payton’s fellow students to see him in a different light. “The kids at school … kind of have the chance to see that he’s a cool guy,” he said. Chad said the elementary school has been supportive of Payton, who visited his school on Oct. 31 before returning to the hospital. Several of Payton’s classmates have made him cards, which are displayed
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News and other stories about real people, places, and events in Forest Lake and nearby suburbs.