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Am I A Fireman Yet?
Am I A Fireman Yet??
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 & fulfill all his dreams. Now that was no longer possible.
The leukemia would see to that. But she still wanted her son's dream 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?'
Mom my, '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 6 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 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 the 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 fire-fighters 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.
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 & fulfill all his dreams. Now that was no longer possible.
The leukemia would see to that. But she still wanted her son's dream 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?'
Mom my, '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 6 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 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 the 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 fire-fighters 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.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Jack/dt on
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Ok this is just one more opportunity for firefighters to feel so damn good about who they are and what they do. Don't believe me? According to Wikipedia-
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Make-A-Wish_Foundation
History
The Make-A-Wish Foundation originated in Phoenix, Arizona in 1980, when a seven-year-old boy, Christopher James Greicius, was hospitalized with leukemia. The Arizona Department of Public Safety, hospital workers and members of the community teamed up and were able to grant his wish: to become a police officer for one day.Christopher was in a coma at the time, but when his police officer uniform was brought in, Christopher woke up. Ample media coverage led to the founding of a permanent charity organization, using Christopher James Greicius' wish as a model. On 3 May 1980, just four days after his wish was granted, Christopher Greicius died.
AND
Make A Wish Foundation- http://www.wish.org/about/the_first_wish
AND
http://www.wishcolorado.org/resources/questions_answers.html
How did the Make-A-Wish Foundation begin?
In April 1980, a seven-year-old child with leukemia, Chris Greicius, had his dream of being a police officer realized as officers of the Arizona Department of Public Safety honored him with a custom-made uniform, helmet, badge and even a helicopter ride! Chris's delight in the fulfillment of his dream inspired the beginnings of the Make-A-Wish Foundation . . . now the largest wish-granting organization in the world.
Seems someone was so insecure and jealous that they took this story and made it about firemans instead of police. I bet this person wears an "I Fight What You Fear" tee shirt and has a sticker on their POV with a little kid peeing on a fire....
If you need stories like this to validate what you do or who you are, seek help or change careers.
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Permalink Reply by Robert St. Germain on
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God Bless all the Fire departments that do this on a regular basis. What a great story, and its inspiring to read a great story. Thanks for sharing. God bless you all, and be safe.
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Permalink Reply by Derek R. on
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True, embellished or totally made up, I personally don't care. The writer did a great job in instilling feelings into a vast majority of people using only the written word. That, I can appreaciate.
If it is in fact a true, or close to true story, all the better. But something like this I will appreciate for what it is and not question it. For sure, it's a tear-jerker, and that's what it was inteneded for.
This is the first time I've seen this, and I thank whoever resurfaced it. But really, how often do you see a bunch of firefighters fighting over a box ofclean.....I mean tissues.
KSHF
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Permalink Reply by Art "ChiefReason" Goodrich on
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Who is the author of this piece?
Because, I have seen many versions over the years.
Very little changes, but I have yet to see who wrote the original piece.
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Art, as well as mine...and these:
http://www.truthorfiction.com/rumors/l/littlestfirefighter.htm
http://www.snopes.com/glurge/fireman.asp
By and large the story is true-ish although in the link that Capt 723 included there is a picture of 'bopsy' in front of a poster, with the name of the child that the Phoeniz PD made an honorary cop, first.
Don't get me wrong, anything that can be done to help sick kids I'm all for, put passing emails around like this that make firefighters look so....heroic, if this is what someone is about, I still say find another line of work. Seems they might be in it just for the glory.
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Capt, apparently Chris Greicius WAS the child that started the Make-A-Wish foundation (either in Arizona, or the U.S. it's not really clear). If you look at the link you included earlier Bopsy is standing infront of a banner that says Greicius Make-A-Wish...as I understand it, Bopsy was the first recipient of the Make-A-Wish foundation and that is how the PFD got involved...again as I understand it.
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