ATLANTA -- Four-year-old Ryan Ehildil loves Darth Vader. His pet hermit crab is named after the Star Wars villain. Every Halloween, he dons his mini Darth Vader costume. But this year, instead of trick-or-treating, he was stuck at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta.
Ryan's parents took him in when his fever spiked. He had pneumonia and fluid on his lungs. There was surgery and complications, and Ryan missed Halloween.
While mulling his loss of loot, he was visited by Darth Vader. Ryan took a little while to warm up to Vader, and initial photos show him looking less than enthusiastic. But by the time the villain left, the two had made a pact: Vader would take him trick-or-treating when he was well enough to leave the hospital. It finally happened this Saturday.
Ryan's Alpharetta neighborhood turned the clock back to Halloween in honor of the little boy. Bob Kilmartin, the president of the homeowners' association, organized 18 homes along the main drag to participate in the late Halloween. Other people lined Ryan's walk with buckets of candy.
A group calling themselves the Ga 501st provided a whole legion of storm troopers. They don't accept money for appearances; they just ask people to donate to a charity. Ryan's neighborhood raised money for Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, where he had been treated.
"There wasn't a dry eye in the house!" Kilmartin told11Alive's Julie Wolfe. "It was amazing. He was just thrilled. No kid should every miss Halloween."
