Early Halloween is their treat for an ailing girl

Star-Telegram
FORT WORTH -- For two hours Thursday night, 7-year-old Trinity Rhyan Bright, in costume as a baby holding a big bottle, went trick-or-treating in her northwest Fort Worth neighborhood. For most children, Halloween's not for four more weeks. Didn't matter. Trinity's family and friends just want to make her happy and Trinity loves Halloween. The first-grader has diffuse pontine glioma, an inoperable brain cancer.

A neighbor, Scott Nipp, said the idea for an early Halloween started recently when Trinity's parents, John and Angel Bright, asked neighbors if they would hand out candy during a mock night of trick-or-treating. Nipp said his wife, Rhonda, and other neighbors quickly organized a much bigger celebration. "Everyone has been touched by her story," Trina Booker said. "If we can just make one day special for Trinity and her family, we'd stop at nothing to do that."

Fire trucks, police cars and clowns showed up in the neighborhood near the corner of Boat Club and Ten Mile Bridge roads. Friends dressed in elaborate costumes and more than a dozen neighbors decorated their homes and handed out treats. Activities included a bean bag toss and fishing for toys. "We're excited to see all of the people who were here for her," said Trinity's mother, Angel, who wore a black-and-white striped prison costume. "This was good because she loves to dress up and she loves candy."

The Brights' Web site describes the family's shock at the sudden onset of the cancer. Trinity first experienced double vision March 3; by March 13, an oncologist at Cook Children's Medical Center was giving the parents the devastating news that their daughter has a rare cancer that is hard to treat. Most patients live only six to 12 months after diagnosis.

"At this time we are currently seeking treatment options around the world. There have been no reported cases of anyone beating this disease, but we want to," they write on the Web site. Thursday night, Trinity's wheelchair was pushed mostly by her father, John, who also wore prison stripes.

Trinity's speech was slow and slurred. She is swollen from steroid medications, her mother said. But she was taking it all in. "It was fun because I got to see Trinity," 8-year-old schoolmate Alycia Savage said. "She was happy and she smiled at me."

Sydney King, 7, another schoolmate, said: "It's fun, exciting and inspirational."

"We wanted to make it the most memorable Halloween that any kid could hope for," Scott Nipp said.

How to help

Donations can be made to Trinity Bright and her family at these banks:

First Bank, account No. 1313766

Bank of America, account No. 488003556995

To find out more about Trinity, go to: www.forevertrinity.com