There was a sight to be seen in Mesa, AZ: Rows and rows of trucks, seemingly boundless, had all rallied together, all with one very bittersweet destination.
Elijah Steffen, a 3-year-old who loved trucks and dreamed of attending a monster truck rally, passed away. Elijah struggled with a rare form of cancer called Langerhans cell histiocytosis, which targets the bones and organs. Sadly, Elijah succumbed to the condition before attending Phoenix's Monster Jam, an outing arranged by the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
To honor his passing, hundreds of strangers attended his funeral. Many of them truck drivers and firefighters, they drove by in military vehicles, semis, and pickups for a beautiful sendoff.
When asked if she knew Elijah, one woman said this, holding back tears. "No we don't. But that doesn't matter. That's what a community does — we all come together and that's what this family needs."
Sometimes it takes hundreds of kind strangers to even be able to light a candle to one person's spirit. When Vietnam vet Don Kaas passed away, 800 folks showed up to pay the man their respects. Today Elijah is being honored just as boldly.
"I couldn't imagine losing my child," says another teary-eyed resident, Scott, whose own son also loves trucks. "So if we can make this family smile by being here. Then it's all worth it," he added.
See the story of how one community brought the monster truck rally to a little boy who couldn't go to it.
Please SHARE if neighbors caring for each other inspires you to pay it forward!
