Wheelchair To Jet: Dad-Son 'Top Gun' Wins Patch Costume Contest

GALLOWAY, NJ — Brian Southrey can't walk or talk. The 3-year-old has faced major setbacks since he was born with a disorder that was misdiagnosed at birth.

But when one of his father's favorite movies is on, Brian communicates his excitement. He makes "coo" noises and kicks his feet.

"He’ll smile a lot if he likes something, and he’ll laugh," said his father, Brian Southrey, "He can do his own version of sign language."

See all of the winning costumes here.

Even though misdiagnosis of panhypopituitarism nearly killed Brian, he can still rock an epic Halloween costume.

The elder Brian made a costume based off the 1986 movie they both love. The elder Southrey is Goose, while Brian dresses as Maverick. Southrey built a cardboard F-14 Tomcat around Brian's wheelchair, which functions as an adaptable stroller.

The Southrey's photo submission took them from the "Danger Zone" to the winner's circle of Patch's Halloween costume photo contest for New Jersey and Pennsylvania. But the journey to becoming Patch's Halloween champion didn't come easy.

Brian was born in 2015 with some medical issues. Panhypopituitarism is a condition that reduces the pituitary gland's production and secretion of hormones. The pituitary gland, in the center of the brain, produces and regulates the releases of several pivotal chemicals with effects that include function, metabolism and the body's response to stress.

People can live with the disorder and function normally. But Brian was misdiagnosed at birth and put on the wrong medicine, which "pretty much killed him," his father said.

"He was put on respiratory arrest," Southrey said. "He had no heartbeat, no pulse, nothing. So we had to revive him. That happened twice. Essentially dying twice has given him the setbacks that he has now."

Although the disorder brings Brian some obstacles, embracing Halloween isn't one of them. During Brian's first Halloween in 2016, his older sister, Ava, wanted to be Princess Leia from "Star Wars."

The family wore "Star Wars" costumes with her. Brian dressed as Luke Skywalker, and Southrey made his son's stroller into an X-wing fighter.

"The first year, I used thin styrofoam to quickly make an X wing," Southrey said. "It was just a quick, ‘Crap, let’s do this right before Halloween.’"

Brian's ensuing Halloween costumes kept getting more elaborate. Ava dressed as Wonder Woman the next year, so Southrey made his son's stroller into a tank. Southrey ditched the styrofoam for cardboard and hot glue to get Brian ready for battle.

Last year, Ava wanted to be a pirate. So Southrey made Brian's stroller into a pirate ship. Brian's costumes always stand out, and many ask his parents what they're going to do next year.

Ava, 8, wanted to dress on her own instead of doing a family costume this Halloween. But Southrey still wanted to dress with his son. Since "Top Gun" is one of Southrey's favorite movies, he decided on a tandem costume of Maverick and Goose.

"He just got a hybrid wheelchair and adaptive stroller for his special needs," Southrey said. "So I thought, ‘That’s perfect. I’ll build a jet around that so we can go around town.’"

Brian and his father unveiled the costume Saturday at Galloway's Trunk or Treat. Once again, the duo made their Halloween presence known.

"People were like, ‘Oh my God. Can I take a picture? This is awesome,’" Southrey said. "The reaction has been pretty good."