My perfect day as a f iref ighter
Dream comes true for brave Alfie, six, who faces agonising battle with cancer
IT is every little boy’s fantasy – dressing up in a yellow hard hat as he douses flames with a fireman’s hose.
So Alfie Sharpe thought all his dreams had come true when he was invited to be a firefighter for the day.
But behind the joy lies heartbreak for Alfie is suffering from an aggressive cancer.
The six-year-old could not believe his luck when a vintage fire truck picked him up from his home in Kilmarnock, Ayrshire, and took him to the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) training centre in Cambuslang, Lanarkshire.
After a day of tackling fires, climbing ladders and even speeding up the Clyde on a rescue boat, Alfie said: ‘My heart was pumping like crazy. It was so exciting.’
With all that energy, it is hard to believe that Alfie was diagnosed with neuroblastoma, which affects the nervous system, when he was four years old. He has battled treatment, including 17 rounds of chemotherapy.
He was given a clean bill of health but only t wo weeks l ater doctors broke t he devastating news to his family that the disease was life-limiting.
Now the brave youngster has fulfilled his wish to be a ‘firefighter for the day’.
His parents Cheree, 30, and Steven, 34, were devastated last month when they were told the tumours had returned. Mrs Sharpe said: ‘He doesn’t know he is ill again and we aren’t going to tell him. We just hope we can get a few months to make some special memories. We’re hoping and praying for time with him. We are utterly heartbroken.’
SFRS crew manager Alan Brown said with his ‘wicked sense of humour’, young Alfie showed ‘every bit of courage and determination’ he expects from firefighters.