Child battling terminal cancer is granted wish of becoming a police officer
A 6-year-old battling terminal cancer got the wish of a lifetime when he became a Kentucky State Police trooper for a day.
A Buffalo, New York man who was diagnosed with stage four lung cancer last year had one wish before he recently lost his battle to the disease: to see his daughter, 23-year-old Beth Ferrino, marry the love of her life later this summer.
"Every time I took my dad to his doctor's appointments, his chemo, his surgeries, he would always tell the surgeons, the doctors and nurses, ‘I have to be there for my daughter's wedding I have to make it through, I'm going to fight this fight for her wedding,’" Beth told WGRZ-TV.
On Father’s Day this year, Rick's wish came true thanks to his family and the staff at the Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, where he was treated.
Rick’s nurses wheeled his hospital bed to the garden located outside where he witnessed a judge marry Beth and her fiancé, Austin Reese.
Beth’s brother, Mitch, captured the moment on camera and posted the video to Facebook. It now has more than 35,000 views and 1,000 reactions.
Just days later, on June 20, the 62-year-old lost his battle to cancer, passing away with his family by his side.
“Words cannot express how grateful me and my family were to the staff at Roswell Park for the amount of time, consideration and genuine care they put into making this happen for us. My Dad got the best care in the world and I will never forget them. Thank you,” Mitch wrote on Facebook.
“I'm in tears. Truly touching. I'm so very sorry for the loss of your father,” one commenter responded.
“So sorry for your loss, to all the Ferrino family what a beautiful tribute you gave to him on his way to heaven,” another wrote.
"It was very emotional just knowing what was going on, but I was happy to know he knew what was going on. And even after we went to his room, he said 'did they really just get married, " Beth told the news station.
Beth and Reese plan to have a larger ceremony in August, where they will remember her father with a lantern, she told the news station.
"This really gave us some peace of mind knowing that his fight had a reason, he wasn't just fighting just to stay alive,” Reese told WGRZ-TV. “He was fighting for his family, he was fighting to see his little girl finally get married.”
Beth did not immediately respond to Fox News’ request for comment on Wednesday afternoon.