ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — While there was rain in the forecast, Saturday's surprise birthday party for an 11-year-old local boy carried on. Bringing smiles to him and his family after being diagnosed with an incurable degenerative neurological disease.
Gage and his family arrived in the rain with a police escort, in sports cars. Something Gage loves.
WATCH: Rain doesn't stop local birthday celebration for boy with incurable disease
“He’s a little overwhelmed, I can tell, but he’s loving it,” says Gage's sister Roxanne.
The community came together, with special appearances from Tampa Bay Rays' mascot, Raymond, to deliver Gage tickets to an upcoming game.
Gage also got to sit in a St. Petersburg fire truck, a SWAT vehicle, and several other sports cars.
And rain did interrupt the car show here and there, but overall, the family had fun, delivering Gage a birthday party he won't forget for a while.
"Birthdays are important for parents, for their kids, but to see an entire community rally around your child, it's just it's hard to put into words the emotion that's there," says Christina Caranahan, a family friend who organized the car show this weekend.
Carnahan told Tampa Bay 28 reporter Larissa Scott on Friday that Gage's story has gone worldwide. Receiving letters and gifts from around the world.
"Just to see the love that is pouring out from every corner of this planet, like no kidding, we’ve gotten things from Australia, one of the cards that Gage opened the other day was from Bermuda,” said Carnahan on Friday.
The family recently moved to St. Petersburg full-time, to keep Gage close to Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital in St. Pete.
“You know, it might just be time we take a look if HOAs are really even necessary.
Maybe we should just do away with homeowner associations as a whole.”
South Florida lawmaker Rep. Juan Carlos Porras (R-Miami) says it may be time to do away with homeowners associations altogether, as more Floridians speak out about rising fees, costly lawsuits, and even arrests tied to HOA disputes. He said this week that he is considering filing legislation in the next session that would abolish HOAs statewide.
