Strangers Help Send Okla. Boy On Magical Trip To Harry Potter World

A sick Oklahoma boy got the trip of a lifetime after strangers in Tennessee heard his story. 

Friday, February 22nd 2019, 9:14 am



A sick Oklahoma boy got the trip of a lifetime after strangers in Tennessee heard his story. 

His mother sat down with News 9 to talk about the trip and express her appreciation. 

If you talk to Teague Niebrugge, within minutes you will probably hear the name Harry Potter.  He's been visiting the magical world of Hogwarts since he started listening to the audio books about seven years ago. But at one point, Teague didn't have to just listen. 

"He lost his sight at age five and a half. It happened over a six month window, so he went from fully sighted, to blind," said Teague's mother, Joey. 

Teague was eventually diagnosed with a rare neurodegenerative disorder called Batten's disease. 

"It is a terminal illness at this point. There is no treatment, there is no cure," Joey said. 

A specialist in new York broke the news to the Nibrugge family. 

"He looked as us and he said today is Teague's very best day. Yesterday is gone and there's not a promise of tomorrow," she said. 

A mentality the Nibrugge family now lives by. 

"I asked Sarah about it and she said he loved Harry Potter and that's one of the things he wanted to do," said Todd Smith from the University of Tennessee. 

It didn't take long for Teague's story and love for the wizarding world to end up reaching the staff at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center. Teague's cousin, Sarah is doing a residency with with the College of Dentistry. 

"We had a lot of the doctors that are here and also in the community, and even the staff here were more than happy to give toward that effort," said Smith 

Together the community raised thousands to grant Teague his dream of visiting Harry Potter World at Universal Studios. 

 

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