Whiz Kid: Owen Amacker

Editor's note: We don't get a lot of chances to write about Easton's kids here. Earlier this year, I that some of my colleagues do, called "Whiz Kids," but it never worked out. Consider this feature a look at what might have been, and what could still be.

When he was diagnosed with diabetes last year, a lot of things changed for Owen Amacker, including Halloween.

Trick or treating was still part of the holiday for the College Hill 6-year-old. Eating the candy he collected? Not as much.

"We were so cautious at the time," recalled Nancy, Owen's mother. "We let him have two pieces, and we threw the rest out."

When Halloween rolled around this year, Nancy didn't want a repeat of 2010. So she began encouraging Owen and other kids to collect unwanted candy for a program called "Operation Gratitude," which sends care packages to troops overseas.

They worked with Girl Scout troupes, the Easton MOMS Club, and other families. "Basically, anyone who lives in fear of having a giant bag of candy in the house," Nancy said.

In end, they collected 115 pounds of candy, which made their way to Operation Gratitude earlier this month.

Nancy Amacker said she hopes to continue this each year, as long as her son maintains an interest in trick-or-treating.

"It's not like, 'No candy, ever,'" she added, sitting with Owen in the family's living room. 

Owen, now in first grade at , wouldn't strike anyone as a boy living with a serious medical condition. He's full of energy -- there were several requests to sit still from both parents during our interview -- and has a sense of humor.

(For example: when Nancy tells a story about how an infection turned Owen's finger black, he insists it was a "dark brown." They finally agree that it was "pretty gross.")

And he's knowledgeable, telling you about the workings of the insulin pump he wears, or the symptoms of dangerously low blood sugar ("You get headaches, you get kind of shaky.")

At school, the pump was a bit of a curiosity, until Owen went before his class and answered questions, drawing on the white board to explain how diabetes works. 

Nancy Amacker says her son has been inspired by his teacher this year. So much so, she said, that when it came time for trick-or-treating, "teacher" was his choice for Halloween costume.