When you get down and think
the world has forgotten you.
Stop and think again, this
story show the love of a Mom
We all have those who love
and care for us no matter what.
And, we still have hero's
to look up to in the world today!
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Littlest Firefighter
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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 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 video taped for
the local news program. Having
his dream come true, with
all the love and attention
that was lavished upon him,
so deeply touched was 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
it's finest members one more
time. And will you open the
window to his room?......Thanks."
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," the chief
said. With those words, Billy smiled
and closed his eyes one last
time.
I want to Thanks Cindy for sending me this wonderful story.
Cindy, you are a joy to have in the family.
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