SPOKANE, Wash. — Four-year-old Jimmy (LJ) Now scratched a wish off of his bucket list on Friday.
He spent the day at Fairchild Air Force Base playing in a helicopter and meeting several members on the base.
LJ was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia when he was two years old.
When he stopped responding to his medications, doctors told his parents to do all they could with him over the next few weeks.
In 2017, LJ’s parents gave him a toy helicopter set for Christmas.
“Ever since he learned about the helicopter, he’s always wanted to be in and fly one,” said Samantha Now, LJ’s mother.
So they planned a trip to Fairchild Air Force Base.
Several service men and women lined up in one of the base’s hangers to greet LJ and his family as they arrived.
LJ’s face lit up with a smile that lasted the whole time he was there.
A team of over forty people helped make the young boy’s visit memorable.
They gave him several gifts, including a memory box, a helmet and a joystick.
But his favorite part seemed to be playing with the controls and sitting in the cockpit of a plane, one with his name on it.
“I didn’t even know that this was possible. They totally made dreams come true today,” Samantha said.
It was an emotional moment, watching such a young child do something he’d wanted to do for so long, and not knowing how much longer he’d get to remember it.
But for LJ, it was a time of happiness and excitement.
“He’s able to be a kid and not (have) to worry about being in the hospital or going through treatments,” Samantha said.
Samantha and her family said they cherish moments like these and hope to enjoy as much time as they can with her son.