ELMHURST, Illinois: It started innocently enough, with a boy hamming it up in front of a computer webcam. He was doing what teens often do when they stand in front of mirrors: Lip-syncing to a popular song, acting goofy, being himself, as if the world wasn't watching. Except, in this case, the world was watching when Keenan Cahill — then an impish 13-year-old with a knack for oddball humor — started posting videos of himself on YouTube. First, there were hundreds of hits, then thousands, then millions. And an Internet sensation was born. “Keenan, what have you done?” his mom asked when a late-night talk show called and wanted to air one of his lip-syncing videos. She wasn't sure whether to be amused or horrified. What if people made fun of her son, who has a rare genetic disease that has stunted his growth? What if he'd opened the door to something too big to handle? For Keenan, though, this was the adventure he'd been waiting for. This was freedom for a young man whose life had, so far, mainly consisted of spending time at hospitals, when he wasn't going to school or hanging out in his room. For him, a vacation was going to Minnesota to a children's hospital, where he's had several surgeries on his legs and hips. Now he gets to travel to places like the Bahamas and France, Los Angeles and Las Vegas. Fans crowd around him as if he were a rock star, their cell phones extended to capture photos and video. Perhaps most surprising are the celebrities and their representatives who contact him regularly. They want a piece of him, to be seen with him, shoot a video with him, to drink whatever potion there is that equates to online clicks, a new measurement of star power. And it is a power, at least right now. “I finally got somewhere, out of all the people,” says Keenan, who's now 16. “I used to pray to God. It's like a switch-back now. I say `Thank you' instead of, `Can you please get me there?”' Whether this newfound fame can last, in an age when online buzz can skyrocket in a matter of hours and fall just as quickly, remains to be seen. Keenan hesitates to call himself a celebrity, partly because his manager has advised him not to focus on fame. Pop star Katy Perry sent him a video greeting with other celebrities included when Keenan recently turned 16. Keenan's mom, who's back working in the mortgage insurance industry, continues to shake her head at all this, though usually with a smile on her face. Her boy is happy, and that makes her happy.
