Edison Boy, 12, Made A Firefighter After His Death

EDISON, NJ — An Edison boy who died last week at the age of 12 was posthumously made an Edison Township firefighter. Teddy Dovel is remembered by many in Edison as someone who brought light and happiness into this world.

Theodore J. Dovel, 12, of Edison, passed away peacefully with his family at his side on Wednesday, June 7 at St. Peters University Hospital in New Brunswick, from complications of Cockayne Syndrome, or CS. Cockayne Syndrome is a rare genetic disease that is marked by progeria, or pre-mature aging. A child with CS can have the heart, lungs and internal organs of an 80-year-old while they are still only in childhood. There is no cure for Cockayne Syndrome, and most children only live until their late teens.

When Teddy was three months old, his parents, Jim and Dottie-Ann Dovel, who live on Ovington Avenue in Edison, first noticed he didn't look at them when they spoke. The very next day, a pediatric ophthalmologist told them their son was legally blind.

But after that, nearly six years went by as doctors struggled to diagnose what exactly Teddy had. Finally Jim, in exasperation, posted some photos of his son to a Facebook page of parents of children who have microcephaly, a condition where a child's brain does not develop properly.

"I posted the pics and just said, 'Help us. We don't know what's wrong with him,'" Jim said. "All of a sudden, two moms, one in Kentucky and another in Washington, D.C., started messaging me and calling me. The sent me photos of their children, who have CS. I said 'Oh my gosh, these pictures look just like Teddy.'"

"Cockayne Syndrome. Those were two words that changed our life forever. Now we knew what was wrong with him," he said. "And we knew he had a time limit."

Teddy's doctors warned the Dovels that their son had a compromised immune system, and he would get illnesses much more easily than other children, some of which could be very harmful.

"It's almost like we had to keep him in a bubble. But we didn't do that, really," said Jim. "We had a bucket list for Teddy because we knew he wouldn't make it to adulthood. So we took him camping up in North Jersey; we took him for a ride in a hot air balloon; he went to the Hooters on Rt. 18 in East Brunswick and got up on stage with all the girls in the bikini contest. He got to meet the New Jersey Devils and he got to meet Barney, his favorite TV character."

And finally having a diagnosis of what Teddy had also came a new family.

"There are four to five children in this area that have CS — a girl from Brooklyn, a girl from Long Island, a boy from South Jersey, and a brother and a sister in North Jersey that both have it. And there are families in New York and Pennsylvania, too," said Jim. "We are a huge community. We get together once or twice a month because nobody understands this like we do."

Although Teddy had impaired vision, and he struggled to talk and hear, he always had a smile on his face, his parents say. Every time he went into the Edison ShopRite he hugged the flower girl and gave a big greeting to the man behind the butcher counter. He attended Menlo Park elementary and John Adams Middle School. When aides would wheel him down the hallway in his wheelchair, he insisted on stopping and waving to every classroom.

"The other students called him The Mayor. The butcher told me Teddy inspired him to come to work every day," his dad said. "Teddy never let the world know how much pain he was in. I think he knew that something was wrong with him and I think he didn't want to show it. He showed it instead by showing love."

And Teddy loved fire trucks and firefighters.

"Every time we drove past a firehouse he would ask me to roll down the window so he could wave," his dad said. Jim used to serve as a volunteer firefighter when the family lived in Clark. "We would always stop in and visit the firemen. He just loved fire trucks."

"This kid, he touched a lot of people's lives," said Edison Fire Capt. Andy Toth. "He would come by the fire station or they would visit him at school. We brought the fire engine to his birthday one year and he loved it."

Over Memorial Day weekend, Teddy started coughing. It was very minor at first, but the Dovels knew to keep an eye on it. They took him to St. Peter's, where his breathing only worsened. It was then, in the hospital, where Teddy's system suddenly crashed. He slipped into a coma, his father said. He remained unconscious for eight days. During that time, his hospital room was filled with visitors.

"All the Hooters waitresses came to see him, and his teachers, and several Edison firefighters," Jim said. "They said he could hear us, so we had as many people as possible talk to him. We were playing Barney and the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, which he loved."

On June 7, surrounded by his three older brothers and his parents, Teddy died. At his viewing, the Edison Fire Dept. made him an honorary firefighter, Badge #241, and a fire truck will escort his ashes from the funeral home to his final resting place. As many as 40 Edison firefighters attended his funeral, as did three Council members.

Why are some children born so sick?, one may wonder.

"I think God gave him life to send a message here on earth, and that message is to spread love. He taught us patience and humility," said his father. "And then when he was ready, God had another job for him and took him home."