After being given only five years to live, a little boy with cerebral palsy and a love for sirens recently celebrated his sixth birthday with a bang when he was surprised by a convoy of ambulances and fire trucks.
Various emergency personnel from across Nelson Mandela Bay, including Gardmed Ambulance Service, Relay EMS, Citywide Security and the NMBM Fire Department, gave Nicholis Hattingh a birthday to remember when they arrived at his house, a few days after his birthday on March 30, with wailing sirens and flashing lights.
According to his mother, Michelle, she first realised that Nicholis enjoyed listening to the sound of sirens when the mayor had a convoy in their neighbourhood, joined by emergency vehicles at the beginning of March this year.
“My little one sat outside with our little family in his wheelchair and it was still a bit chilly but he sat waving at everyone, screaming in excitement,” she explained.
“He adores sirens, lights and movement, especially vehicles, which is weird because kids with his disability normally get triggered by fast moving lights and sounds, but not him. He really is a special little man.
“For his birthday, myself and his stepdad, Ryno, decided that since we can’t buy anything for him to play with, as he can’t sit, walk or talk, we would arrange this for him. So I got on the phone with all of them and arranged a drive-by with lights and sirens and boy; what a treat.
“Gardmed did an amazing job. Samantha Bubb, Leon Rossouw and the team made my little boy’s day beyond what we could’ve imagined,” Michelle said.
“We knew that they were coming. Samantha (Bubb) kept us in the loop the whole time. She is truly an angel because we didn’t expect that much participation from all the vehicles and so many of the personnel to attend. Each one came up to him to wish him a happy birthday and that was nice.
“They did so much more than what was expected and Ryno and I were absolutely gobsmacked by the participation and overwhelming response from Gardmed. Never in all my life did I expect them to go that far and out of their way,” she said.
“This meant so much for him. He actually cried when they left and we had to go back inside. He kept looking at the door, wanting to go out again and that afternoon at 16:00 he literally passed out from all the excitement,” she added.
Michelle mentioned that Nicholis was born as a healthy baby, weighing 3.85kg, but when he didn’t reach his milestones at the age of six months, they knew that something was wrong. Nicholis was sent for an ECG and MRI and was subsequently diagnosed with severe cerebral palsy.
“He was given a life span of five years, but God has done His miracles and saved my boy for another year. He had been through so many surgeries and so many difficulties. He was diagnosed with epilepsy on the right and left sides of his brain in December 2020, but still little Nicholis is smiling all the way through.
“He loves watching Fireman Sam, Baby Bus and of course, YouTube has lately been his thing. He is a vibrant little boy who always puts a smile on the faces of everyone around him. He is our angel child,” Michelle said.
“We would like to thank everyone at Gardmed for what they have done for our little fighter. He fights a daily battle but what they did and meant for him was unquestionably the biggest surprise and gift we could’ve ever offered our little angel.”
Bubb wished Nicholis a happy birthday from Gardmed and mentioned that they got him a soft teddy bear for comfort, as he is not able to hold anything.
“All of our ambulances and response vehicles went down to his home and put on their lights and sirens, NMB fire joined us shortly after with their lights and sirens going as well. From the Gardmed Ambulance Service family, we would love to wish Nicholis a very happy sixth birthday. Lots of love to Nicholis and his family,” Bubb said.
