PORTLAND, Maine (NEWS CENTER) -- It's been a year since we introduced you to Collin Tarbox. A young man with a passion for license plates.
Tarbox is referred to as a frequent flier at Barbara Bush Children's Hospital because he's admitted as a patient there so often. 227 days last year alone. He spent his 10th birthday at the hospital where his rare form of immunodeficiency syndrome has been met with anemia.
"If I get near anyone who has been sick, I can get it really easily," said Tarbox.
There's certain things about a hospital that you can't mask, but that doesn't mean you can't try to fill it with laughter. Every day that Tarbox spends at Barbara Bush Children's hospital is an opportunity for staff members to make him forget about his diagnoses. As a thank you, he's spent every healthy day he has telling people about a specialty license plate campaign that will help raise money for the hospital.
"Most kids are like, 'ok I was in the lime light and that was fun been there done that,' but he's still so eager to because he understands how this could really benefit a place that has helped him so much," said hospital employee Abby Snyder.
Tarbox joined Heidi Knight and the morning show crew on Frank FM radio to ask listeners to sign up for a license plate. He's looking to get around 500 more signatures by October 1 to reach the 2,000 signatures required by the state of Maine.
"Super important, not just for the hospital, but for me personally because of my love for Collin," said Knight. "He really wants this license plate to happen, there's no reason why we can't make this happen for him."
One person who did agree to sign up for a plate per Tarbox's request was Barbara Bush. The former first lady wrote to the 10-year-old after he wished her a happy birthday earlier this month.
"Thank you so much for the letter and the birthday wishes," wrote Bush. "I was thrilled to hear about what you are doing for the hospital with your license plate project. Of course I will sign up!"
To find out more about the specialty license plate campaign, or to sign up yourself, click here.