Entomologist Phil Torres Makes a Child’s Wish Come True
Phil Torres with Bradon Coy at the 2014 Annual Meeting of the Entomological Society of America in Portland.
At the 2014 Annual Meeting of the Entomological Society of America in Portland, there was a special visitor: Bradon Coy, a nine-year-old boy with a rare genetic condition known as Duchenne muscular dystrophy.
This condition qualified him to make a wish with the Make-A-Wish Foundation, an organization that grants the wishes of children with life-threatening illnesses. Bradon’s wish, according to his mother, was “to hunt bugs.”
“The dream-come-true was for him to spend time with entomologists, people who do what he loves to do,” his father said.
Luckily, an entomologist named Phil Torres was at the ESA meeting. Phil is based in the Amazon, where he searches for insects and other wildlife as a journalist for Al Jazeera America.
“Mr. Torres sat down with Bradon and started showing him pictures on his phone, and it was pretty magical,” Bradon’s mother said. “Then Phil stood up and said I will help you do whatever you need to get this little guy to wherever he needs to go or wants to go.”
Nearly a year later, it really happened. Bradon’s wish to hunt really cool bugs was fulfilled with a trip to Panama, along with Mr. Torres, as you can see in the following video:
Phil Torres and Bradon Coy in Panama. Click here for the video.
Follow Phil Torres on Twitter at @phil_torres or click here to follow him on Instagram.
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My hats off to Mr. Torres!! It Is great to see someone go the lengths Mr. Torres has. I have been giving back to the community for the past 30 years helping special needs people. Mr. Torres and Coy will have something special to remember the rest of their lives. God Bless you…..Richard