WATCH: A special needs boy in Sidney was in for quite the Halloween treat after paramedics heard about the rolling ambulance costume his dad built him. Tess van Straaten reports.
The Poole family in Sidney is used to seeing paramedics at the door because their six-year-old son, Jackson, has a rare medical condition.
“At the age of two, Jackson started having seizures so they became a very important part of our lives,” says Jackson’s dad Chad Poole.
Jackson is non-verbal and can’t walk so every Halloween, Jackson’s dad builds him a creative costume on wheels.
This year, Chad went all out ? building a rolling replica of an ambulance complete with official decals, a wireless speaker to play music and a siren.
“We really wanted to celebrate paramedics and what they’ve meant to our family and the countless times they’ve saved his life,” Poole says.
When B.C. Ambulance paramedics found out about the incredible costume, they decided to pay a spooktacular Halloween visit to the Sidney boy.
Jackson even got a chance to sit in the front seat of the real ambulance and try out the siren.
“For him to be in the driver’s seat instead of in the back on a stretcher is pretty amazing,” says mom Tracey Pool, tearing up.
It was an emotional visit for Jackson’s parents, who wanted to thank the paramedics for saving their child’s life.
“Very grateful,” says Tracey. “They’re just amazing and a very calming group of people when you’re a parent and you don’t know if your child is going to make it.”
It was also touching for the paramedics, who are used to seeing people at their worst.
“It’s nice to come in a different capacity when someone is not sick and you can make them smile and be happy to see them having fun,” says B.C. Ambulance paramedics Sue Lindsay.
It made for a memorable Halloween, before the trick or treating even started.
Tess van Straaten
