KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Greyson Veal began fighting for his life, again, when his b-cell acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia relapsed in December 2020. The 2-year-old’s body had stopped responding to chemotherapy.
Doctors now estimate young Veal has less than two weeks left to live.
In a race against the clock, Make-A-Wish, Children's Mercy Hospital and first responders pulled together, granting Veal his final wish.
"Greyson has been passionate about fire trucks for as long as we can remember," said Karla Veal, Greyson Veal's mom.
She says her son calls the trucks "woo-woos."
In a customized fire wagon, with his air tank in tow, Captain Greyson Veal rolled out for duty at the corner of Locust and Gillham Road in Kansas City, Missouri.
His final mission was to simply sit back and enjoy the parade of trucks, lights and sirens that arrived from across the area, just for him.
“We wanted him to be able to enjoy the outdoors, see some of the people that he really loves and just to see something that makes him smile, and this does,” Karla Veal said while holding back tears.
Karla Veal expressed how much it meant for her son to have this moment surrounded by those who have loved and helped him most along his cancer journey.
“I think cancer is an ugly disease," said Brian Veal, Greyson’s dad. “We are so thankful for Greyson, his life and his long fight and thankful for those who fought along with him.”
The Veals, who are from Moberly, Missouri, gave thanks to the countless friends from their church and community back home, in addition to the nurses, doctors and complete strangers in Kansas City.
"They make really hard days a little better, a little easier," the Veals said.
In a post announcing the news of Greyson's prognosis, his mom wrote in-part:
"Please be praying for this time. Pray for peace and no pain. Pray for Mason and for our family. Pray for all who love Greyson and have been touched by him. It’s hard to imagine life without Greyson but goodness he has fought hard. As my sweet friend said, we will walk Greyson to the gates of heaven."
This story was originally published by Gabriella Pagán at KSHB.
