Friday, April 17, 1998 | 10:48 a.m.
After losing his son to a terminal illness, a Las Vegas man will be making a 1,200-mile circuit of the state of Nevada to raise funds for "A Special Wish of Nevada."
Dennis DeVilbiss, a part-time UNLV police officer and a Teamster in the Las Vegas convention industry, plans to make the trek April 27-May 16, stopping in 14 towns, including Alamo, Elko, Reno and Carson City.
"It's something I want to do to pay back the folks who helped me," DeVilbiss said.
DeVilbiss and his wife, Lee, lost their son Robert in 1994 when he died from congestive heart failure.
Four months before he died, Robert was granted a wish from Make-A-Wish of Nevada to go to Disneyland where the entire family received VIP treatment.
"A wish like that can bring a lot of happiness to a family," DeVilbiss said. "It's a break from their everyday struggle. My family can't remember a better time than being at Disneyland with Robert."
DeVilbiss is kicking off the first fund-raiser for the new local chapter of "A Special Wish." He says that he hopes to generate enough funds so other children can have the same opportunity that Robert had.
DeVilbiss said the Make-A-Wish foundation which granted the trip to Robert has limited resources and was not prepared to back him so he chose "A Special Wish" which he says has the same premise.
DeVilbiss said that 95 percent of the money raised will stay in Nevada to grant the wishes of the terminally ill children. Each wish usually costs about $4,500.
"Everything was on borrowed time. Until you've been in a situation where you go in and check to see if a child is alive at night, you don't appreciate an organization like this," DeVilbiss said.
"Nothing was easy, each day with Robert was a miracle. But he was a son a dad could be proud of. I guess this ride is also a celebration of the memory of our precious Robert and the survival of our family through this ordeal."
DeVilbiss, who has participated in other fund-raisers, said this is the first time that he has attempted a ride of this length. He said that he still needs support from someone to underwrite the cost of expenses, such as meals. He is hoping to get local towns and cities to sponsor him along the route.
DeVilbiss, who plans to leave at 6 a.m. on April 27 from Teamsters Union, 700 N. Lamb Blvd., says he has no idea how much money he'll raise.
"If I got a buck from everybody in Nevada I'd have enough to keep it going forever," he said. "But if I can just complete the ride and bring awareness to the general public and let them know there are families out there with terminally ill children, then that itself should help generate funds."
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