(The following article by Casey Santee appeared in the Idaho State Journal on August 7.)
POCATELLO — Four-year-old Andrew Nelson, diagnosed last April with a rare form of cancer known as neuroblastoma, got the chance to live one of his dreams Wednesday afternoon – he rode in the lead engine of a Union Pacific train all the way to McCammon.
Andrew’s wish was turned into a reality after Ken Buffaloe of UP’s Safety Committee heard about Andrew through a friend.
“We were overwhelmed with how generous the railroad was – how much they were willing to do for us – letting Andrew ride up front,” said Melissa Nelson, Andrew’s mother.
Before boarding the train about
1 p.m., Buffaloe gave Andrew a teddy bear, a lantern, an engineer’s cap and a toy train.
Then, moments later, Andrew donned a pair of shaded safety glasses, and in the arms of his father, Mark, headed out the UP depot’s back door and down the tracks to the waiting train.
After climbing aboard, the engine’s window opened and Andrew waved to the small crowd below.
“Andrew has a quiet personality,” Melissa said. “So he didn’t say much on the train ride. But on the way home, that’s all he talked about.”
Andrew received a Union Pacific Railroad teddy bear with an engineer’s cap before he and his dad got on the rails for their ride to McCammon.
After battling cancer for more than a year with five chemotherapy treatments, two surgeries and two bone marrow transplants, Andrew went into remission.
On July 29, the Nelsons learned the cancer had returned and Andrew began more chemotherapy treatments for the disease.
“You never know what it’s like to go through something like this until it happens,” Melissa said.
But for 30 minutes Wednesday afternoon, Andrew was able to live a dream.
“His favorite part was blowing the whistle,” Melissa said.