Boardman band keeps rolling

Blake Windt grabs his toy of X-Men superhero Charles Xavier and whooshes it around the air in front of his eyes.

Xavier is the boss of the X-Men. He’s a mutant. He’s a genius. He’s in a wheelchair.

Blake pauses to explain X-Men to me.

See, I only know Tony Stark and Captain America. Blake lectures me that those guys are Avengers, not X-Men. I’m so stupid, I admit.

Of all the aspects of Xavier’s life, it’s the wheelchair we talk about most.

Blake enters Boardman High School this August. He will do so in a wheelchair. He’s not happy about it.

His feelings come out after about 30 seconds of silence. It felt like three minutes.

And it’s pure, unfiltered childhood honesty as he lets it be known.

You don’t know whether to cry a bit or find some encouragement. Truth be known, you do both.

Blake is the younger brother of Kaitlin Windt.

I wrote about Kaitlin in 2013. She was then a Boardman freshman and a surprising sight for many of us watching school band and football that year. She was performing the flute while in a wheelchair. Her chair was pushed around at every band event by dedicated souls Beth Bean and Rachel Ruggieri, who split the duties after spending the summer learning the routines.

The threesome just completed a second school year together and have their eyes set on August and band camp and a third season.

This year, Blake and his wheelchair will be with them.

Kaitlin and Blake were born with Friedreich’s Ataxia. It’s muscular dystrophy, scoliosis, heart weakness, circulation problems, diabetes and more rolled into one tragic syndrome. Their bodies are quitting them in various ways and at various times.

When I visited them in 2013 in the Cornersburg home of their dad, Howard, Kaitlin had completed corrective spine surgery to counter her scoliosis while in eighth grade. Blake is through eighth grade but is a ways away from surgery.

During my visit last week, his walking was noticeably affected.

My story in 2013 gets into the details of the hows and whys of Friedrich’s and the Windt family. Go to my column on the home page of vindy.com and find this story. I will also link the 2013 story.

I wanted to take time today to share with you a need for Blake, Kaitlin and the Boardman band team.

Band director Tom Ruggieri, his son Nico and supporters launched an effort to raise funds to buy two sport wheelchairs to be used by the Windts. These chairs are the race cars of wheelchairs – specially constructed lightweight units that are designed for high-level activity with peak maneuverability – perfect for what the band goes through.

Nico started a GoFundMe.com venture in May and has raised more than $5,000.

Their goal is at least $7,500. Any extra funds would go toward a band scholarship.

Ruggieri said two seasons so far with Kaitlin gives them great confidence in adding Blake to their ranks.

“Nobody ever thinks that it’s anything out of the ordinary,” said Ruggieri, whose band will be 180 members strong this year. Joining their ranks this year will be Kaitlin’s and Blake’s mom, Chrissy Longley. She aims to learn the routines at camp this summer.

Their feats have drawn endless admiration from other programs. Ruggieri got a call from a college band director who had seen our coverage. He was about to have the same situation at his school and sought advice.

Band practice kicks off July 27, and Ruggieri is hopeful the chairs will be ready for the kids.

Todd Franko is editor of The Vindicator. He likes emails about stories and our newspaper. Email him at tfranko@vindy.com. He blogs, too, on vindy.com. Tweet him, too, at @tfranko.