Teen spends day with Chicago Fire Department as Make-A-Wish Illinois's 20,000th wish
It was a day one teenager will never forget after spending it with the Chicago Fire Department.
It was all thanks to the nonprofit organization Make-A-Wish.
The 7 a.m. surprise left 17-year-old Kayleigh Carpenter stunned.
Her mother, Rashonda Hunt, says her daughter has always had a special connection to first responders and a fascination with emergency vehicles.
"Like when we're out and about and we're driving, and she sees a fire truck, ambulance, police — she gets really excited. She just loves watching them. Even at home, she will watch those kinds of videos on YouTube," Hunt said.
She says her daughter was born early and was diagnosed with cerebral palsy, as well as epilepsy, and sometimes she has seizures.
"She did get a surgery where they did implants to help her battle her surgery. So when she has one, there's this little device to give her this little shock to bring her up out of it."
Make-A-Wish Illinois celebrated a historic milestone on Monday — making Carpenter their 20,000th child to have a wish granted by the organization.
"We've been making wishes come true since 1985. So this was a really special one for Kayleigh today and a very creative one. She seemed to have a blast," said Casey March with Make-A-Wish.
She had an uninterrupted day with the fire department, stopping at Engine 72, where she performed a few drills, including breaking open a door, putting out a fire, and riding the fire department's boat, then finally ending at Fire Station Engine 18, where she was sworn in as the newest member of the fire department.
"She promises to be brave, to be kind and do her best in all that she does," said CFD Commissioner Nance Holt.
The station was Carpenter's last stop on her work tour, where she performed several duties. After being sworn in, she got to go up 55 feet in the air, in the fire station's snorkel, also known as a bucket.
To top it off, David Eigenberg from the Chicago Fire TV show made a special appearance.
"Kayleigh Carpenter is a fine young lady who's got so much joy in her heart and wants to take care of people and look after people, and that's what the fire department does here and the police department. That's what a lot of people in Chicago do. This is a city where we look out for each other," Eigenberg said.
Carpenter's mom says her neurologist nominated her, which she says was a surprise for them.
