Young Aiden Reibel was brought to my attention through the Facebook. He is a fan of the fire service in New Jersey and suffering from health issues that keep him from his dream: Riding Along at the local Fire Department.
Amidst the patch grabbers and beggars across facebook, Aiden's supporters caught my eye when they simply asked me to add Aiden to the roster for the day.
It wasn't a request for me to be with Aiden, but for Aiden to see he was with me.
I was moved.
I erased my name off the board at House 3 and added his name as the Rescue Captain (RC) for the Airport and sent the picture into the facebook page. There he was with me as well as with a handful of other Departments from across the nation.
Each and every post was a photo of Aiden's name on the roster board, gear, helmet or rig. Aiden was riding along at FDNY Battalion 9, with me in San Francisco, and a host of other agencies even an ambulance in Spain and a wildland crew in Australia. Each post included a phrase along the lines of "You're with us" instead of the usual "We're with you" you see so often.
While Aiden is indeed accepting patches, the more powerful message is that even though he is too sick to ride along like he wants, his name is being spoken across the world in firehouses, ambulance yards and volunteer musters.
And to me that is far more powerful than any patch.
Aiden was with me for 2 days last week and thinking about having him along made me think about my own health and that of my family.
Your drill for today is to put Aiden's name on your roster, rig or gear and let him ride along in spirit for the day. Then shoot a pic and share it with Aiden's page on FB.
It is literally the least you can do and will mean the world for a sick kid and will do wonders for your soul.
Trust me.
-HM
Amidst the patch grabbers and beggars across facebook, Aiden's supporters caught my eye when they simply asked me to add Aiden to the roster for the day.
It wasn't a request for me to be with Aiden, but for Aiden to see he was with me.
I was moved.
I erased my name off the board at House 3 and added his name as the Rescue Captain (RC) for the Airport and sent the picture into the facebook page. There he was with me as well as with a handful of other Departments from across the nation.Each and every post was a photo of Aiden's name on the roster board, gear, helmet or rig. Aiden was riding along at FDNY Battalion 9, with me in San Francisco, and a host of other agencies even an ambulance in Spain and a wildland crew in Australia. Each post included a phrase along the lines of "You're with us" instead of the usual "We're with you" you see so often.
While Aiden is indeed accepting patches, the more powerful message is that even though he is too sick to ride along like he wants, his name is being spoken across the world in firehouses, ambulance yards and volunteer musters.
And to me that is far more powerful than any patch.
Aiden was with me for 2 days last week and thinking about having him along made me think about my own health and that of my family.
Your drill for today is to put Aiden's name on your roster, rig or gear and let him ride along in spirit for the day. Then shoot a pic and share it with Aiden's page on FB.
It is literally the least you can do and will mean the world for a sick kid and will do wonders for your soul.
Trust me.
-HM
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