Dreamcatchers club: 78-year-old hospice patient takes hot air balloon ride

GILBERT, Ariz. - On this chilly January morning, 78-year-old Irby Blakesley embarked on a journey she had been dreaming about all of her life.

Irby, who has ALS and is wheelchair-bound, took a trip high in the sky in a hot air balloon that started in the area of Higley and Queen Creek. It was all thanks to a group of students, a club called the Dreamcatchers.

"We work with local hospice, they will reach out to us if they have a dreamer," Sage Liu said. Some of our most recent dreams are a family reunion. We did a book signing for a lady who really just wanted to publish her book she had been working on her whole life."

The Red Mountain High School chapter worked with Hospice of the Valley where Irby is a resident.

Dreamcatchers was started in 2009 by Caitlin Crommett who traveled from her home in California to watch this ride of a lifetime.

"I think it really expands their perspective, it gives him a different view of life," she said. "Typically, elderly people who are typically often ignored in our society... [it] gives appreciation for them."

For Crommett and the teens, it's about giving back and bridging the gap.

For Irby and her family, who landed about 30 minutes later near Higley and Ocotillo, it's about living life to its fullest.

Dreamcatchers
https://www.dreamcatchers1.org/