He loves firetrucks. So 2-year-old got a surprise during chemo treatment

Twins Luke and Levi Eck stood on a countertop on the fifth floor of the Medical Arts Tower, their faces and tiny fingertips pressed against a windowpane, intently scanning the street below for trucks and police cars.

This has become a routine for the 2-year-old brothers, who visit physician David Rosen’s office three to five times a week for Luke’s chemotherapy treatments.

Luke was diagnosed with left renal clear cell sarcoma – kidney cancer – in February. Denise Eck, his mother, said his left kidney and a 2.2-pound tumor were removed in late February. His chemo treatments started soon after that.

“Firetruck,” Luke said, looking over his shoulder to be sure his mother heard him. “Firetruck!”

The brothers peered into the parking lot below, pointing out two firetrucks that were pulling up to a curb on the south side of the building.

Typically, the pair spot a truck that is driving through by chance. On Thursday morning, that wasn’t the case.

Kim Rosen, who helps run the office, in a Facebook post on Tuesday asked whether anyone knew a firefighter or police officer that could bring a vehicle and surprise Luke.

“It just escalated,” she said. “The outpouring of support was unbelievable.”

Rosen said they had visits set up for the week before she knew it.

Around 10:30 a.m. on Thursday, firefighters from Wichita Fire Department Station 1 showed up to surprise the twins. Three firefighters, including Capt. Chad Winton, hopped in the firetruck’s bucket and rode it up to the Eck’s fifth-floor window.

The twins, their parents and their two younger sisters, Anna and Katherine, were waiting inside.

The bucket rose up as the truck’s lights flashed below. The boys stared silently, fogging up the window with excited breaths.

Levi reached out his hand to high-five a firefighter through the glass.

Neither boy spoke until the bucket descended.

“Firetruck!” Luke said once more.

The men from Station 1 came inside, presenting Luke with his own bright orange firefighter helmet, detailed with his name. They also gave him a T-shirt and multiple badges.

The family took pictures with the firefighters, then went outside to explore the trucks.

Nick Eck, their father, carried Luke into the cab of the truck and let him check it out.

“It’s just good to see him be a kid still,” Nick Eck said.

Luke has been receiving chemo up to five days a week since his surgery, Denise Eck said. He has six and a half months of chemotherapy left.

Treatments typically last anywhere from four to five hours, she said, and the days can feel long.

“Stuff like this just lifts them up,” she said of the twins. “It breaks up the days, which is good.”

Levi accompanies his brother to every treatment, Nick Eck said.

“(Levi) really keeps Luke moving rather than laying down and pouting. He’s got somebody to keep up with,” he said.

Luke and Levi can be found playing in the office’s police and firefighter car replicas or searching for trucks during almost every treatment, Rosen said.

On Wednesday, the Wichita Police Department came to see the Ecks, and later Thursday afternoon, they got a visit from members of the SWAT unit.

Winton, who has been a part of the fire department for more than 20 years, said these are the days that stick with him.

“We deal with life and death on a daily basis, and today – today was a good day,” he said. “It was good for him. It was good for us. The guys are all smiling. Everybody’s happy to be a part of this.”

Denise Eck, standing in the shade holding 7-week-old Katherine, smiled as she watched the firefighters talk to Luke and Levi next to the truck.

“It just makes you real happy and proud that people in this community can come together to put a smile on a kid’s face like that,” she said. “This is something that they’re going to be talking about for years.”

This story was originally published June 15, 2017 at 2:57 PM with the headline "He loves firetrucks. So 2-year-old got a surprise during chemo treatment."