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Special needs teen hopes WWE star will visit school

Northwest Florida Daily News - 4/1/2017

April 01--BAKER -- Students at Baker School are "calling out" World Wrestling Entertainment superstar John Cena to help make a special needs student's dream come true.

Senior Caymen Mainor can be seen on any given day walking the halls of Baker sporting John Cena apparel from head to toe.

Caymen, who is on the autism spectrum, adopted his idol's catchphrase "Never give up" because he remains confident the pro wrestler will visit his school before graduation in May.

"Am I going to meet John Cena?" Caymen asked. "Yes! John Cena says, 'Never give up.' When I see him, I'm going to cry. I'm going to give him a big hug."

In November, Caymen started a petition he hopes will get Cena to visit his school. More than 300 students, teachers and others already have signed on to support the teen's dream.

Baker teacher and coach Teresa Rockwell recorded a video of Caymen she hopes will go viral. The video already had been shared 2,864 times since Wednesday.

"I think every kid should have a dream come true," Rockwell said. "Caymen is a really good kid. Everyone loves him. I heard about his petition, so I thought, let's make this really happen."

In 2015, Cena became the first celebrity to grant more than 500 wishes for the Make A Wish Foundation. Cena's "Never give up" has become the motto for sick and special needs children across the globe.

WWE especially has a longstanding tradition of granting wishes. The Baker community hopes Caymen's will be the next wish met.

Wendy Mainor, Caymen's mom, said her son's dream is not a selfish one because he hopes to share the experience with his classmates.

"I'm going to say, 'Kids, this is John Cena,' " Caymen said. "I'm going to take him around and show him the lunch room, the classes, the track, the football field, everywhere."

WWE takes about two days to process requests, according to Rockwell. As of now, no one from the organization has contacted the school.

Cayman's dream was sparked after seeing Cena in action in Pensacola and Mobile, Alabama.

"When I saw him, I thought, 'He's the man I want to meet,' " Cayman said. "One day I will. Hopefully, I'll see him in the hallway or he'll walk into my class at school."

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(c)2017 the Northwest Florida Daily News (Fort Walton Beach, Fla.)

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