DUNMORE, Pa. — Fire trucks on John Street in Dunmore weren't here for an emergency Saturday morning.
They were part of a special surprise from the Dunmore Fire Department for 4-year-old David Rivera.
Back in August, David was diagnosed with a type of brain cancer that spread to his spine. His dad explains David lost movement in his left side after his second surgery, slowly re-gaining it back after being in a wheelchair.
"I wasn't even here, I was on deployment in Egypt, and my wife was here with the kids, and we thought he was just sick. And he went and got hospitalized, and they ended up telling us he had brain cancer. I flew home, and he had surgery while I was flying home," said David Rivera, David's father.
"I remember the first day I found out, I was bawling my eyes out. But now I am super happy. Right now, he is running and playing. He's going crazy," said Evan Rivera, David's brother.
David just finished six weeks of radiation at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and got to ring the bell this past Wednesday, so the fire department made sure he got a special welcome home.
"We're showing him the sirens, the equipment, our air packs, anything he wants to see. Just kind of let him have the run of the truck and look at it," said Larry Waters, Dunmore Fire Department.
"We thought they were just driving by; we actually didn't know they were going to come and have him go inside the truck or anything like that. It's so nice," said David's father.
"I was really surprised, and I really appreciate it from them. Like they made him smile, which made me smile. It touched me a lot. He's happy, and I am happy," said Evan.
The Rivera family says this is a day they will never forget.
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