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A young boy battling a rare form of cancer got to live his dream day after Make-A-Wish Southern Florida granted him a wish.
Ten-year-old Dmytri Christian Alexander, originally from the U.S. Virgin Islands, flew to South Florida to get an up-close and personal look at the world he’s dreamed of joining for many years: air travel.
At Miami-Opa Locka Executive Airport, the child marshaled a private jet, toured the aviation facility, saw Coast Guard planes, and spent time in the air traffic control room.
He even got the chance to climb aboard an airport fire rescue truck.
Officials at the airport said Christian Alexander was a pro behind the wheel.
“He said to our assistant GM, ‘I got it. I want to marshal it by myself.’ So it’s rewarding to see him that he was very into it and excited and it was absolutely a blast because he did everything perfectly,” said Gustavo Vazquez.
His family said from a young age, he’s been fascinated by aviation. Back home in the U.S. Virgin Islands, his parents took him to the local airport to watch planes take off and land.
“His mother took him to the airport like every other day just to see the planes leaving the airport. Every day they go park outside the airport and watch the plane leave and come in,” said Henry Christian Jr., Dmytri’s father.
Seeing his son doing what he loves brought joy to the father and the family who were able to witness it all.
“It’s amazing to see my son finally get to do what he always wanted to do. As he grows up, I hope he takes initiative to do it so that he could actually enjoy it,” said Christian Jr. “Just seeing his face, I knew he was pleased; he was happy to do it, so I didn’t need anything else than that.”
After a full day of enjoying and being surrounded by planes, Henry says he already has an idea of what Dmytri may ask for next.
“Daddy, I want a plane. Daddy, I want a plane.’ Yeah, that’s what’s gonna be the talk, so yeah, you gotta prepare for that one,” he said.
Signature Aviation helped Make-A-Wish coordinate the activities and sent the family home with personalized patches and pins so that they can never forget the eventful day.
