Young Boy Battling Cancer Gets Hands-On Visit To OKC Fire Station

A young boy visiting Oklahoma for Thanksgiving got a big surprise from the Oklahoma City Fire Department.

At some point in just about every child's life, they're fascinated with fire trucks. But the men and women at Fire Station 7 wanted to make sure this little boy's ride in one was extra special, not knowing if it would be his last.

"I wanted to make sure that he enjoyed his time here at the station and just had fun and kind of was able to forget whatever treatments he was going through," Lorin Brown said.

At just 4-years-old, Jude Nielsen has lung and brain cancer, but on this day he forgot about fighting cancer. He's pretending to fight fires instead.

Jude and his family used to live in Oklahoma, but his dad took a job in Houston and not long after the move they learned Jude was sick. Oklahoma City District Fire Chief Shane Williams came across Jude's grandmother who shared his story.

"The chemo was so hard on him that he couldn't even go outside in the sun," he said. "She said he'd lost his hair."

However, he did not lose his spirit when firefighters took Jude and his two siblings on a special run in a fire engine.

"They all had little kid bunker gear on," Williams said. "It was awesome."

You can't tell now, Jude is too overwhelmed with excitement, but just days earlier Jude's doctor found a second spot on his lung.

"He said, ‘I don't want you changing your plans,’" Williams said. "’Go ahead and take your trip to Oklahoma City, but when you get back, we're going to have surgery.’"

A ride Jude didn't want to end; a small but touching adventure in a much bigger journey of this little boy's life.

"We all have young children and the thought that maybe this is his last time to get to do something touches everybody's hearts," Williams said.

Only about 500 other people in the country have the type of cancer Jude is battling. His next surgery is Dec. 16.

Learn more about Jude’s type of cancer.

The family has set up a GoFundMe account to help offset medical costs