Copyright, Jaci Rae and North Shore Records, Inc.
The Boy and The Fireman
Author Unknown
In Phoenix, Arizona, a 26-year-old mother stared down at her 6 year old son, who was dying of terminal leukemia. Although her heart was filled with sadness, she also had a strong feeling of determination. Like any parent, she wanted her son to grow up and fulfill all his dreams. Now that was no longer possible.
The leukemia would see to that. But she still
wanted her son's dreams to
come true. She took her son's hand and asked,"Billy, did you ever think
about what you wanted to be once you grew up? Did
you ever dream and wish what you would do with your life?"
Mommy, "I always wanted to be a fireman when I grew up."
Mom smiled back and said, "Let's see if we can make your wish come true."
Later that day she went to her local fire
department in Phoenix, Arizona,
where she met Fireman Bob, who had a heart as big as
Phoenix.
She explained her son's final wish and asked if it
might be possible to
give her six-year-old son a ride around the block on
a fire engine.
Fireman Bob said, "Look, we can do better than
that. If you'll have your
son ready at seven o'clock Wednesday morning, we'll
make him an honorary
fireman for the whole day. He can come down to the
fire station, eat with
us, go out on all the fire calls, the whole nine
yards!
And if you'll give us! his sizes, we'll get a real fire uniform for him, with a real fire hat-not a toy one-with the emblem of the Phoenix Fire Department on it, a yellow slicker like we wear and rubber boots.
They're all manufactured right here in Phoenix, so we can get them fast."
Three days later Fireman Bob picked up Billy,
dressed him in his fire
uniform and escorted him from his hospital bed to
the waiting hook and
ladder truck. Billy got to sit on the back of the
truck and help steer it
back to the fire station.
He was in heaven. There were three fire calls in
Phoenix that day and
Billy got to go out on all three calls. He rode in
the different fire
engines, the paramedic's van, and even the fire
chief's car.
He was also videotaped for the local news program.
Having his dream come
true, with all the love and attention that was
lavished upon him, so deeply
touched Billy that he lived three months longer than
any doctor thought
possible.
One night all of his vital signs began to drop
dramatically and the head
nurse, who believed in the hospice concept that no
one should die alone,
began to call the family members to the hospital.
Then she remembered the day Billy had spent as a
fireman, so she called
the Fire Chief and asked if it would be possible to
send a fireman in
uniform to the hospital to be with Billy as he made
his transition. The
chief replied, "We can do better than that. We'll be
there in five minutes.
Will you please do me a favor? When you hear the
sirens screaming and see
the lights flashing, will you announce over the PA
system that there is not
a fire? It's just the fire department coming to see
one of its finest
members one more time. And will you open the window
to his room?
About five minutes later a hook and ladder truck
arrived at the hospital
and extended its ladder up to Billy's third floor
open window 16
firefighters climbed up the ladder into Billy's
room.
With his mother's
permission, they hugged him and held him and told
him how much they loved
him. With his dying breath, Billy looked up at the
fire chief and said,
"Chief, am I really a fireman now?" "Billy,
you are, and the Head Chief, God, is holding your
hand," the chief said.
With those words, Billy smiled and said, "I know,
He's been holding my
hand all day, and the angels have been singing.." He
closed his eyes one
last time.
Make-A-Wish Foundation
Please help the Make-A-Wish Foundation by donating your time or money to help children and their families who are dealing with life-threatening illnesses have a wish fulfilled. Click here to find out how
Merry Christmas! Jaci Rae
