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The 26-year-old
mother stared down at her 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 fill 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 suit and
took him and put him on 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, extended its ladder up to Billy's third floor open window
and 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, Jesus, 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.
My instructions
were to send this to four people that I wanted God to bless and I
picked you. Please pass this to four people you want to be blessed as
well as the person who sent it to you. This story is powerful and
there is nothing attached, please do not break this pattern; uplifting
stories are one of the best gifts we receive. There is no cost but a
lot of rewards, let's continue to uplift one another.
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