Make-A-Wish: Peterbilt Day
Make-A-Wish: Peterbilt Day
As many of you know, James and we, his parents, recently flew to Texas for his Make-A-Wish trip. His itinerary was packed with his favorite things: Peterbilt (yes, the company that makes garbage trucks and tractor trailers!), BNSF (the big orange freight trains), the Grapevine Railroad, and the historic Stockyards. I’ll be sharing each part in separate posts because honestly, each one deserves its own spotlight.
Let’s start with the hotel.
The hotel was incredible. The staff went above and beyond for James. They made him a personalized toy garbage truck and gave him a Build-A-Bear construction bear! Special shout-out to Liliana and Shana in the club room — they were absolute angels. Liliana made James chocolate chip pancakes even though they weren’t on the menu, and Shana made sure he had toy trucks and cars to take on the go. Their kindness meant the world to us.
Now... Peterbilt.
I don’t even know where to begin. The way Peterbilt treated James was beyond anything we ever expected. Before the tour even started, we checked into our hotel room to find a Peterbilt duffel bag, shirts and hats for the tour, a huge snack package, balloons — and when Cory moved the bag, we found it was stuffed with toys for James. We just stood there and cried. That was before the visit even began.
And Peterbilt, if you see this, the balloons were a hit with James! He absolutely loved playing them - much to his mother’s fear of balloon popping haha! But I wouldn’t trade those giggles for anything.
The next day, we arrived at Peterbilt’s HQ and were welcomed with lunch and two custom cakes: one shaped like a construction site and another like an orange Peterbilt cab. Then, James was gifted a scale-model metal garbage truck — a real collector’s piece (which he broke in a couple of places… sorry about that!). As if that wasn’t enough, they handed us, the parents, gift cards. We were already overwhelmed… and then they told us, “Don’t worry, we’ll ship it to you.” Cory and I thought, “we can fit this into the suitcase…?” (We didn’t even know what they meant yet.)
They gave James a tour like no other. He got to ride around on a golf cart decorated with his name and streamers, visit areas most outsiders never get to see, and play on his own custom-made clay mold in their design center. Then — and I still can’t believe this — they called the City of Denton and arranged for a real garbage truck for James to climb in and play with. I’m screaming again just typing that! James was able to push the buttons for the grabber arms and let me tell you, his squeals said it all. I believe Cory hollered out the window, “This truck will run out of fuel before James comes out!”
But here’s what really hit us: they brought James through their actual production line and made him feel like one of the team. They had everything running ahead of schedule so they could dedicate that time to him. They handed him (non-working) remotes and told him he was in charge of moving parts and keeping the line running. They got down on his level and spoke to him as if he was part of the company. The staff cheered his name, guided him at each station, and treated him like he was one of their own — not a kid with a terminal illness, not someone fragile, but someone important. Someone respected. One of them.
And if you know James, you know he doesn’t open up easily. He’s a quiet observer, someone who usually hangs back and takes everything in before jumping in. But by the end of this tour? He was running to the golf cart, confident — like he belonged. Like he was part of the crew. And that speaks volumes about how comfortable, seen, and supported he felt with these incredible people.
They gave him hand-crafted gifts and items they clearly spent a lot of time planning just for him. That’s when we understood what they meant by “we’ll ship it to you” — there was so much they had prepared. It was more than just a tour or a day of fun — it was pure love in action.
May 22nd will forever be “Peterbilt Day” to us.
This company — these people — poured everything they had into giving our son a memory of a lifetime. They didn’t know James before this, but you’d think they’d loved him for years. They made a lasting impression on us, the parents. They made us feel like family in their company and the emotions we felt touring with them were so overwhelming in such a wonderful way. We are forever grateful. We absolutely plan to be back. And Peterbilt, we wear your shirts with pride. When we talk about our day at Peterbilt, he still asks for more. Thank you, from the bottom of our hearts, for everything you have done for James.
