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Rec Center Opens Its Doors, 5 Years After Boy With Special Needs Has A Vision

AURORA, Colo. (CBS4) - Doctors told Sebian Holiday he wouldn't make it past his ninth birthday. Now he's 16, and still showing the world that anything is possible.

Holiday suffers from scoliosis, a muscular disease, and the Vista PEAK Preparatory School student has very limited command of his body beyond his hands. And while his body is limited, his mind is far from it.

Sebian Holiday
Sebian Holiday (credit: CBS)

He had a vision five years ago -- to make a place where able bodied and disabled people could do the same activities without feeling like they're different. He worked with his father, a fitness instructor, to oversee the first-of-its-kind recreation center he dreamed about.

"I never would've thought to do this in a milllion years. All of this really is him. I'm just worker hand, he's the mastermind. we're a team," his dad Keithan said.

Sebian Holiday
Sebian Holiday (credit: CBS)

Sēb's Recreation Center -- located at 1710 Buckley Road in Aurora -- opened Friday.

There is exercise equipment, but Holiday wants to stress it isn't a gym. There are games, arts & crafts and movies. There's a massage room with aromatherapy.

Sēb's also has a classroom for occupational therapists to give seminars and offer advice to those taking care of people with special needs.

"I think we need more awareness about disabled people because not many families have a disabled person so that makes them unaware of disabled people," Holiday told CBS4.

The center still has a few things they need to make Holiday's vision complete. They're hoping to get some donations to help them out, and ask that people visit www.sebsrec.org to learn more abot how to help.

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