Tears streamed down Diane Greenlaw’s cheeks Monday morning as her 11-year-old daughter stepped up to the rainbow-colored Learjet, then turned and shot a wide grin.
“Bye, Mom,” said Rachel Greenlaw, who is battling leukemia. “I’m going to have some fun.”
“I’m sure you will, sweetie,” her mother said. “Be careful.”
With that, 10 children – with cancer, genetic disorders and other life-threatening illnesses – were given the chance to fly in the Dream Catcher III on Monday at Centennial Airport, all part of the Make-A-Wish Foundation’s 25th anniversary celebration.
The private jet, donated by Englewood-based International Jet Aviation Services, was painted in a twist of DayGlo blue, green, orange, pink and yellow and will fly other Make-A-Wish children this week in Colorado Springs, Arizona, New Mexico and Southern California.
The company had donated the plane twice before, in 1990 and 1998, for other Make-A-Wish celebrations.
“We just thought that we’d like to do something cool for these kids,” said Lynn Krogh, one of the charter company’s co-owners. “Maybe it’ll take their minds off things for a while.”
The boys and girls, from 7 to 15 years old, signed the plane’s exterior, donned a pilot’s hat and coat, and posed for pictures in the cockpit before taking off at Centennial for the two 20-minute flights over Denver and Pikes Peak – each flight with five children and some parents.
“So, do I get to sit in the front?” 9-year-old Edden Bargai asked captain Rod Champney as the pair stood outside the plane.
“No,” Champney told the Denver boy. “Unfortunately, they make the pilots do that.”
The children walked or were wheeled to the plane’s door, camera-toting parents in tow. On board, they pressed their hands and faces against the windows to get in one last wave or smile to Mom and Dad before takeoff.
Christy Kopp lifted her 7-year-old daughter, Kayla, into the plane on one of the trips, then handed over “Upsie,” her daughter’s plastic doll.
“It’s such a special moment for her,” Kopp said of her daughter, who has Sjogren-Larsson syndrome, a rare disorder that affects the Highlands Ranch girl’s speech and motor function.
Aboard the plane, as it soared at speeds approaching 500 mph, the children craned their necks to get better views of the landscape below.
“Everything was so small when we were up there,” said Edden, who had a brain tumor removed nine months ago and is undergoing hormone therapy. “The cars were like ants, and the buildings looked like toys.”
After landing on its first trip, Dream Catcher III approached the families waiting near the charter company’s building.
Rachel was among the first to exit, stopping on the stairs to spy the crush of parents. The Littleton girl spotted her mother, then ran, full speed, until she flew into her mother’s arms.
The two toppled to the concrete and laughed.
Staff writer Robert Sanchez can be reached at 303-820-1282 or rsanchez@denverpost.com.
