Members of Manassas Fire & Rescue and other individuals in the community were able to help 15-year old boy Jaime Martinez cross some items off of his “wish list'”.
Martinez is wheelchair bound, due to a genetic disease that is causing damage to his nervous system, and has caused cardiac arrhythmias, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, and the deterioration of his spine.
Ahead of a surgical procedure Martinez is receiving to put a metal rod in his spine, to handle the deterioration, the fire department spent time with him, bringing him up in the bucket of a ladder truck in the parking lot of Osbourn High School, and driving him to the Manassas Regional Airport for a helicopter ride.
“Jaime is suffering from a debilitative neurological disease that is affecting his spine, and he’s going to be having some srgery next week. And one of the things that he wanted to do before his surgery was to go up in the bucket of ladder truck,” said Fire & Rescue Chief Rob Clemons.
For Clemons, being able to do things like this in the community is important.
“This is one of the great things we get to do. A lot of times we see people at their worst, but this gives us an opportunity to fulfill a wish of a young man,” said Clemons.
The family is currently raising money to defray some of Martinez’s medical costs. For more information about Martinez and to donate, click here.
