His dream with Make-A-Wish Foundation was to fly like his favorite superhero, Iron Man.

Huffington Post reported Max turned into his alter ego Iron Max as he put on the costume and flew, or rather floated, in an indoor skydiving facility in Colorado.  He floated in 100 mph winds.

Vertin's brothers also have the condition.  The Muscular Dystrophy Association said until recently, the condition was fatal by the teenaged years in most cases.  Health advances now push survival into the 30s, while some patients have lived into their 40s and 50s.

According to the New York Daily News, doctors said Max will be in a wheelchair by the time he turns 9.  He is 8 years old and has been measured for his first wheelchair.

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Fulton DA Fani Willis (center) with Nathan J. Wade (right), the special prosecutor she hired to manage the Trump case and had a romantic relationship with, at a news conference announcing charges against President-elect Donald Trump and others in Atlanta, Aug. 14, 2023. Georgia’s Supreme Court on Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2025, upheld an appeals court's decision to disqualify Willis from the election interference case against Trump and his allies. (Kenny Holston/New York Times)

Credit: NYT