who was dying of terminal leukemia. Although her
heart was filled with sadness, she also had a
strong feeling of determination. Like all parents,
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 sons hand
and asked, "Billy, did you ever think about what
you wanted to be once you grew up? Did you ever
dream or 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 that wish come true." Later that day,
she went to the local firehouse in Phoenix, Arizona,
where she met fireman Bob, who had a heart as big
as Phoenix. She explains her son's wish and then asked
if it would be possible to give her 6 year old son a ride
around the block on one of the firetrucks.
Fireman Bob smiled and said, "Look, we can do better
Fireman Bob smiled and said, "Look, we can do better
than that. If you'll have your son ready at 7 o'clock
Wednesday morning, we'll make him an honorary fireman
for the whole day. He can come down to the station and
eat with us, go out on a couple of calls, the whole nine
yards! And if you'll give me his sizes, I'll even get him his
own, real fire uniform with a real fire helmet with the
Phoenix Fire Department emblem on it, a yellow slicker like
we wear and rubber boots. They're all made right here
in Phoenix, so I can get them fast."
Three days later, fireman Bob picked up Billy and dressed
Three days later, fireman Bob picked up Billy and dressed
him in his fire uniform and then escorted him from his
hospital bed to a waiting hook and ladder truck just outside.
Billy got to sit in the back of the truck and help steer it
back to the station. He was in heaven. There were 3 fire
calls in Phoenix that day and Billy got to go out on all 3 calls.
He rode in the different fire trucks, the paramedic's van and
even took a ride in the chief's car. He was also video taped
for the local news program.
Having his dream come true, with all the love and attention
Having his dream come true, with all the love and attention
that was lavished upon him, so deeply touched Billy that
he lived 3 months longer that any doctor thought possible.
One night, all of Billy's vitals 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,
but please do us a favor. When you hear the sirens screaming
and the lights flashing, please announce over the PA that
there is no fire, that 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? 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 all hugged him and held him and told him how much they
all 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.
