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 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 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 and extended its ladder

up to Billy's third floor open window

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.

 

I got chills reading that. Thanks for sharing.

 

wow, I got the chills

 

Thank you Odin, very heartwarming story.

 

Damn, I got some dirt in my eye.

 

Fuggin kid probably wasn't a very good fireman.

 

Probably a very true statement... LOL!

 

That wasn't the point a$$wipe!

 

Yea dang it....me too...I was to snope it but you know what...I dont care...

freakin dirt really bugs the eyes dont it...

 

Hot dog I did it anyway (see I'm too cynical for my age)

http://www.snopes.com/glurge/fireman.htm

Claim: A dying child was made an honorary fireman by the Phoenix Fire Department.


Status: True. .

Origins: Though
the story circulated in e-mail identifies the dying child as "Billy" instead of by his actual name, this Internet tale is a relatively truthful, if badly overwritten, account. It's also (with the exception of the child's name) lifted word-for-word from the original Chicken Soup for the Soul book.

Not that we're going to swear that all Chicken Soup stories are necessarily true, but this one is. In 1981, Frank "Bopsy" Salazar, a 7-year-old dying of leukemia, became the first "wish child" helped by the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

This boy from Phoenix had three wishes: to be a fireman, to ride in a hot air balloon, and to go to Disneyland. He ultimately achieved all three, but it's his first wish, the fireman one, that we'll concentrate on here.

The Make-A-Wish Foundation contacted the Phoenix Fire Department (not the boy's mother, as the popular narrative states). From the Make-A-Wish account of the granting of Bopsy's wish to be a fireman:

The Bopsy Salazar Phoenix Fire Department made sure Bopsy had an experience truly befitting a fireman — making him the first honorary fireman in Phoenix history. A full uniform, complete with a yellow coat and a helmet, was custom made just for him. Bopsy scrambled around the back of Engine 9's ladder truck, and turned on the horn. Following the ride, he doused a few cars with water from a 75-pound hose. At the end of the day, Bopsy was pinned with an official firefighter’s badge.

Bopsy went on to experience his hot-air balloon ride and his trip to Disneyland. (While in Anaheim, he was treated with every courtesy a visiting fireman could wish for from his Southern California colleagues, including being chauffeured to and from the Los Angeles airport in a fire truck and escorted around the park by two of his fellow firefighters from the Anaheim fire department.)

As for the more fantastic claim made in the e-mail — that Phoenix fireman climbed through the child's hospital window on the night Bopsy died — this too holds true. It was only five firemen instead of the sixteen of the Chicken Soup version, but they did indeed park the hook and ladder below his window, then climb up the ladder and into his room:

Bopsy's condition worsened not long after returning from California, and he had to return to the hospital. As he slept in his third floor room, someone suddenly knocked on his window and opened it, and in came five of his fellow Phoenix firemen. They had parked their ladder truck below. As his colleagues continued to crawl through the window, Bopsy — now fully awake — could not contain his laughter. Bopsy shared a few laughs and stories with his friends before going back to sleep, with a smile on his face. Later that evening, Bopsy passed away — but not before seeing all three of his fondest wishes come true.

Barbara "fireman, walk with me" Mikkelson

Additional information:
'The Littlest Firefighter' - Fact Or Fiction? "The Littlest Firefighter" - Fact Or Fiction?
(City of Phoenix)

 

I'm fully aware of that, a$$wipe. Try reading past the black letters and read the white parts between the letters. I was alluding to the same condition as TruBlu with the dirt in his eye.

 

Outstanding Story.

 

I sure couldn't tell that was the case with the words you chose to use to describe the "fuggen" kid. I'm not good at conveying feelings and emotions on the internet, I just see the words. If you meant otherwise, sorry for my mistake... bro.

 

Same here. I didn't really want to find out it wasn't true. I like the idea that there are people that would go to this extent to make the last days of a dying child magical. I hope that each and every one of these people are blessed a thousand fold.