Nov. 25—As 6-year-old Elliott Slocum stood at a Wilmington Fire Station 6 over the weekend, waiting to become a firefighter, there was not a dry eye in sight.
"Are all those people there for me?" his mother, Grace Slocum, 44, recalls him asking. "He's really fixated on firetrucks and firefighters. I know he loved it and thought it was amazing. He still asks me when he can go back to the fire station."
Over the last two years, Elliott has been at a hospital almost daily for treatment of pre-b acute lymphoblastic lymphoma, commonly known as bone cancer.
He finally went into remission on Oct. 3 and recently returned to Olive B. Loss Elementary School, where he's interacting with a large number of people for the first time since being diagnosed in June 2019.
Upon his arrival, one of the first things he told his guidance counselor was that he wanted to be a firefighter, said Grace Slocum.
When second grade teacher Erin McCullin, 43, heard about his love for all things firefighter-related, she knew she had to do something special.
McCullin asked her brother Bobby McCullin, a Wilmington firefighter, if Elliott could meet him.
After Elliott heard the news, he asked McCullin daily when he would meet "firefighter Bobby," she said.
"Elliott and his family thought they were just coming to see my brother. Maybe a firefighter and a firetruck," said McCullin.
Little did the Slocum family know, there was a lot more to the surprise than they assumed.
McCullin's brother ran the idea by his Lt., Jonathan Osika, who passed it along to Chief John Looney. Soon enough, about 50 firefighters from all of the stations in Wilmington came together to give Elliott Slocum an official welcome onto the squad.
He was greeted with a basket of patches and stickers from each fire station, a fire jacket from Bobby McCullin and a real fire helmet.
He even got to ride on a firetruck and hear dispatch congratulate him on officially becoming an honorary firefighter.
"He's just starting to be a real kid. He was so appreciative and excited," said Erin McCullin . "Coming from a six-year-old, it's amazing to see it through his eyes. It was just a day like no other. Something this kid is never going to forget, ever."
Saturday's event was organized to put a smile on Elliott's face, but little did Erin McCullin know, she would never forget this day, either.
Her father, who was a firefighter at the Wilmington Fire Department for 35 years, passed away from cancer 15 years ago.
His birthday was Nov. 20, this past Saturday.
"Elliott was like a little angel sent to my family. It helped my family with our mourning and our loss," she said. "Seeing the joy in this little boy's eyes... it made some grown men cry."
Since the Slocum family moved to Newark three months ago from South Jersey, they have never felt like they belonged more than they do now.
"We really didn't have any support going through this," said Slocum. "A lot of people don't know what to do or what to say when a child is diagnosed with cancer."
Once Elliott reached remission, the family placed a sign in their front yard congratulating their son on finishing chemotherapy. What they did not expect was the amount of people who would drive by and honk at Elliott in support.
"These were people that we never really met before," said Grace Slocum. "It has been overwhelming, heartwarming and humbling. All the words."
Almost a week later, the Slocum family continues to process the outpouring of support and the amount of people who made their son's dream come true.
"We're still getting choked up knowing that people put in the time and effort to celebrate him and help him feel more normal," said Grace Slocum.
Prior to Elliott's diagnosis, the pain in his legs from the cancer became so bad that at one point he began crawling everywhere, tears in his eyes. Today, he walks proudly away from the firehouse to embark on the next chapter of his life.
"You never see that kind of thing and expect it to happen to us," said Slocum of Saturday's events.
"He deserves all the fun, all the support, all the love a kid can get," she said. "I'm hopeful that he can start really living his life and growing up."
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