FireLink

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?'

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
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 slickers 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
Paramedics' 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.

that's what I said too when I read this. one of the guys on my department forwarded this to all in our department. He said the same thing too. :)

There was an old saying I heard when I was with the department: God created firemen for kids and He created kids for firemen.

There is a special bond there. It is the child in all of us that solidifies that relationship. What firefighter out there wouldn't do every thing in their power to make a child's dream come true, especially when we are living the same dream?

Angel, thank you for sharing that story.

Awesome story!

DocBernard said:

There was an old saying I heard when I was with the department: God created firemen for kids and He created kids for firemen.

There is a special bond there. It is the child in all of us that solidifies that relationship. What firefighter out there wouldn't do every thing in their power to make a child's dream come true, especially when we are living the same dream?

Angel, thank you for sharing that story.

Doc, you are right. He knew what he was doing when he made both.

I normally don't get emotional but that brought out a tear .

AngelJo008 said:

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?'

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
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 slickers 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
Paramedics' 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.

My mom e-mailed this to me  before ............

it really brings tears to my eyes everytime I read it............

and again today it just did it again................

WOW. that stoped my whole station for a moment. It realy got all of us deep.       Thanks.

You would have to read this to yourself. Theres no way you could read this aloud without breaking up.  Thanks for sharing this heart warming story.

jonhearn says ...

Wow, that got me. *wipes eyes*

I was a little skeptical about the accuracy of the story, however I looked it up on snopes, and pretty much the entire story is accurate! That's amazing!

For more information, you can visit http://www.snopes.com/glurge/fireman.asp

WOW......The story itself is hard to read.....especially with two young kids. I've read that in e-mail numerous time, but I never thought it was real.....kinda bumed me out for the reast of the day. 

Breaks the Heart a bit more with each paragraph. 

Thanks for the Link showing that it is for real.  Can't imaging who could make something like that up, but it is good to know the FD went the distance for him.

This is a very touching story, and I am glad to see that people still take the time to make the dreams of little kids come true!

This is a story that I have recieved a few times over the years, and it still putsme in tears everytime.