Texas Boy Battling Leukemia Becomes Batman for a Day

April 19, 2012— -- intro:Kye, 7, has leukemia. He has always dreamed of being in a Batman movie and wanted to hang out with Batman.

With the help of a local non-profit organization, and the police department and fire departments in Arlington, Texas, this wish came true.

Kye's mother Tina Sapp made a request to "A Wish with Wings," a local non-profit that grants wishes for children in Texas with life-threatening conditions. Sapp thought the usual gifts of vacations and shopping sprees were nice, but not for Kye.

"I was thinking if this is gonna be his one and only wish, it needs to reflect who he is and his character," Sapp told ABC News.

For as long as anyone can remember, he called his brother "Robin" and sister "Batgirl" and would look for crime to fight.

"I knew he loved adventures and Batman. I was gearing towards making a movie with Batman," said Sapp. "Riding in the Bat Mobile."

At first, though, she was reluctant at first to present the idea, but the organization wanted to help make it a reality; first reaching out to the mayor who then asked the Arlington Police Department for help.

"We received information they wanted to do this event and of course our hearts immediately went out when we heard Kye's story," Sgt. Christopher Cook of the Arlington Police Department said.

"It was a six-week planning process. We wrote the script a few times, we wanted to make it as realistic as possible," said Cook.

On Saturday, April 14, the plan went into action.

quicklist: 1text: Kye dressed as Batman,and his brother and sister -- dressed as Robin and Batgirl, piled into a limo. Along with a bigger Batman, Kye and the rest of his team went out into the city of Arlington to fight crime.

The first scenario was a bank robbery staged at Arlington National Bank. An actor playing the Joker held up a teller. At first Kye was shy, but then started coming out of his shell as the day went on.

"He was so excited," said Dominique Vahev, program services director for A Wish with Wings. "He was hilarious; he was really getting into the part."media:16166296

quicklist: 2text: The second scenario took place down the street from the bank, with two officers staging a purse snatching, in which the thief was captured by the superheroes and put into a police cruiser.

Kye "was yelling at the purse snatcher and telling him he shouldn't be snatching people's purses," Vahev said.media: 16167061

quicklist: 3text: For the third scenario a 'car bomb' was staged outside of city hall with an actor playing the Riddler.

"He didn't wait on the big Batman,'' Sapp said. "He took off running."

The Arlington Fire Department supervised the 'bomb,' scenario even bringing their bomb robot for to play a part.media: 16167294

quicklist: 4text: For the last part of the day, Kye was presented with a key to the city by the assistant police chief and the day was named "Kye Day" in his honor. Before receiving his key, Kye received a tour of a fire engine.

When the day was coming to an end, Cook said, "I'll never forget it, he looked at me and said, 'Aw man, is the day over?'"

"We all knew we did a great thing and he had a great time," Cook said. media: 16167340

quicklist: 5text: "I was amazed, I was overjoyed. I loved the way that Kye took charge and took the lead. I was very proud of him and his courage and his bravery," Sapp said of the event.

Kye was diagnosed with leukemia when he was five, in November of 2010. He will continue chemotherapy until July of 2014.

Sapp said that during the boy's spinal taps, he laughs, tells jokes and plays video games.

"That boy is amazing," Sapp said. media: 16167328