'Dew'ing for others

Bridger Hunt did not get the half-pipe he was hoping for on his 12th birthday.

Instead, he's spent the past 50 days fighting for his life — and now the use of his left leg — at Primary Children's Medical Center after being grievously injured by a homemade fireworks device on July 24.

So imagine his delight when he learned that his skateboarding idol, Ryan Sheckler, was coming to town with the AST Dew Tour this weekend.

"Two weeks ago we told the doctors, 'We've got to get him to the Dew Tour,"' said his mom, Mindy Carter-Shaw. "They gave us a big list of things he had to do ... and we did them. This is what he's worked for."

Bridger is scheduled to be released today, and he already has plans to meet with Sheckler, one of the most popular attractions on the tour and watch the skateboarding competition in a private box on Saturday. It was the promise of that outing that had the 12-year-old practicing how to use a walker Thursday morning when he heard an announcement over the intercom that sent him back to his wheelchair and outside for the first time in nearly two months.

"We just heard them say that there were people from the Dew Tour here on the patio, and we hurried up to meet them," Carter-Shaw said. "We've already got plans to go to the Dew Tour; this is just an added bonus."

And while it was an unexpected extra for Bridger, for most of the children who made their way to the third-floor patio, a visit with two BMX competitors was as close as they will get to the Dew Tour.

David Williams shivered as he waited for his turn with Austin Colemen, who competes in BMX park and BMX vert events.

The 4-year-old, who suffers from neuroblastoma, made his way around the patio on his plastic Diego tricycle collecting autographs — and stickers — from Coleman and Kevin Robinson, who competes in BMX vert. The two athletes spent about an hour and a half with patients from Primary, most of whom have been in the hospital for extended periods of time.

"I'm going to put it in my room," David said when asked what he was going to do with his poster, which included a drawing Coleman penned of David on his bike.

As David chatted with Coleman, Brittni Meservy, 12, received some words of encouragement from Robinson, who has spent a lot of time in hospitals dealing with 28 surgeries.

"A shattered pelvis — that was the worst," said the 36-year-old father of two toddlers. "I couldn't even (lift my head); I was on a liquid diet. It's tough."