Firefighters Climb Hospital Window Using Truck's Ladder to Cheer Up Terminally Ill 5-Year-Old
When firefighters heard Mason, 5, was terminally ill, they decided to climb the ladder of their truck to surprise him at his hospital window.
Firefighters climbed a ladder to a Missouri hospital’s third floor window to surprise a terminal 5-year-old boy too sick to leave his room.
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Mason, 5, was born with a congenital heart defect, and will go home for hospice care Wednesday after years of surgeries and treatments.
When the Kansas City Fire Department heard about the downturn in his health, they decided to drop by the Children’s Mercy Hospital to give him the surprise of a lifetime.
"We were sitting there and basically doing the same thing we do every day and the captain walked in the room and said, 'If you could come over to the window, we’ve got a surprise for him,'" Mason’s mom Becky Guccione told InsidEdition.com. "He was seeing these people come to the window. My son was very worried — he was terrified these guys were going to fall. Once he realized everything was okay, he thought it was pretty awesome."
Mason was also made an honorary firefighter, and presented his own fire helmet, badge, and letter from the fire chief.
She explained that the surprise came as a result of the strong bond among firefighters. Mason’s dad, Scott Guccione, has been a firefighter with the Springfield Fire Department for the last 12 years.
“I’ve never seen anything like the bond of this brotherhood,” Becky said. “They’ve offered so much and they don’t even know us.”
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Mason, who has lived with the Gucciones since he was about 16 months old, had his adoption papers finalized in an expedited process because of his failing health.
And, after his adoption was complete Friday, the team of firefighters surprised him again by appearing at his hospital window.
“He was singing happy birthday to himself all day. They paged it around the hospital and the [catheterization] lab nurses were jumping up and down," Becky said. "It’s just a happy ending to a long journey with him."
Becky explained he was born with a double right outlet ventricle, which required three surgeries. The first two, one at birth and the second when he was about a year old, went perfectly.
But the same could not be said for the last procedure.
"This was his final one. It should have been a few weeks [and] we would go home, but his body rejected it, and he’s had complications ever since,” Becky explained. “Unfortunately, we’re now out of options."
Although it has been six months of countless procedures and surgeries due to his failing health, Mason continues to be bubbly and energetic, and always has a smile on his face.
"He has special needs, so he doesn’t really understand what all is going on," Becky explained. "He has no idea what hospice is, or anything that is about to happen. He has no idea the pain he’s in, he just tolerates it."
Doctors are unsure how much time Mason may have left, but the boy will spend his final days at home with his parents along with his biological younger sister, Lainey, and adopted older brother, Payton.
To donate to medical, hospice and funeral expenses, visit the family's GoFundMe page.
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