Moms of Palos Stand Up to Bully Who Took Special Needs Boy's Treasured Cards

PALOS PARK, IL — Megan Annan just wanted to vent. The lifelong Palos Park resident had just learned of a 10-year-old boy with Down Syndrome whose classmate took from him a beloved collection of Pokémon cards while he was riding the school bus. She was furious.

"My heart was just so broken," she said. "Why are kids so mean? It’s one thing for a kid to pick on another kid, which is totally unacceptable, but to pick on a kid with special needs who doesn’t know how to defend himself, that’s on a whole other level."

The boy is her friend's brother, Kepler Taylor. Kepler came home that November day and wouldn't tell his parents who took the cards—likely because he just wants to fit in, and doesn't want any of his classmates singled out. But Annan was too upset to stay quiet.

The mom to a 2- and a-half-year-old boy posted about the experience on Moms of Palos, a Facebook group frequented by other local moms in search of answers or, in this case, comfort. But then the offers started. This mom had a son with cards he doesn't use anymore. That mom would like to buy a pack or two, and which ones did the boy need? So-and-so's son wants to give Kepler some toys, too. Some from other communities jumped in, as well.

Annan soon found herself with "piles and piles" of Pokémon cards—estimated at least 500 in total—and some other themed toys.

"I was texting his sister, 'You are never going to believe what is going on,'" she said. "They were totally taken aback that a group of moms and families would step up and do something like this."

The best part? Annan never said who the boy was, or where he was from. And no one asked. They just acted.

"His sister and mom—they’re crying and can’t believe it," Annan said. "They’re more shocked than we are that somebody would help a complete stranger."

Kepler and his parents Susan and Greg live in Cincinnati, Ohio. His sister Val said Kepler has kept mum on who took the cards, she assumes because it's his first year riding the mainstream bus and he's "hesitant to break the few relationships he has.

"He gets taken advantage of in trades, because he doesn’t know the value of certain cards," Taylor said.

Taylor, who is the oldest of five and currently lives in Lisle, was seething when she heard about what happened.

I was about to drive to Ohio and start knocking on doors. I’ve always been super-protective of my siblings, and to know that someone was taking advantage of him, I was enraged.

—Val Taylor

She trusted that her parents would handle the situation as best they could, aware that little could be done without knowing the culprit.

But no one told the Moms of Palos that.

"My mind was absolutely blown," Taylor said, of when she heard about their efforts. "I cried for a day and a half straight, I was just so happy."

The new cards will be delivered to him on Christmas. Some other toys and gifts are being shipped directly to him via Amazon, she said, which is a special treat for her brother.

"He never gets mail addressed to him, so I think his eyes are gonna bug out of his head," she said. "I don’t know if he’s going to know what to do with himself, I think it’s going to blow his mind."

Annan said she was touched by how quickly Kepler's story spread, and that local kids seemed just as outraged that someone like Kepler was treated this way.

"This horrible thing that happened to this little boy, it turned into an amazing lesson, a great lesson for the little kids," she said. "Kids came together and said, 'This is NOT OK.' They’re really going to help this little guy out."

Annan thinks the Taylors—including Kepler's three other siblings Jude, Eli, and Anna-Jessie—were more surprised by the support.

"I was definitely shocked, but I knew the type of community I live in," she said. "That's why we live here."

"Are we ever gonna leave? Probably not."