UPDATE: Travis is no longer in pain, having passed away early in the morning on Saturday, May 28th. He will be dearly missed by all who knew him.
Travis Peterson accepted death 20 years ago. He just didn’t know how it would come.
After fighting fires for nearly 15 years, this Assistant Fire Chief from Cache County, Utah spent the last year and a half fighting for his own life. Late in summer of 2014, Peterson started noticing numbness in his right hand and found out it was fibrosarcoma. It soon spread to his lungs and lymph nodes and that’s where he stands today---battling terminal lung cancer.
Ever since he was a little boy, Peterson had two career paths he wanted to pursue---either a fighter pilot or a fireman. He ended up following his father's footsteps and becoming a fire fighter.
Upon learning of his condition, coworkers and community members rallied to Peterson's support. They launched a GoFundMe campaign to give him the chance to fly in a fighter jet.
Chazz Pearmain, who set up the fund, described Peterson as an "awesome fireman who has saved many lives, good father and my friend." A huge Top Gun fan, his only bucket list wish is to fly in a fighter jet.
"It’s what I’ve always wanted to do," Peterson said.
Moved by the compassion of his community in granting this wish, Peterson said he hopes he can leave this world being remembered simply as "a good dude."
For however much longer he has to live, he wants to spend as much time as possible with his family.
"I’m willing to trade one, two or three years of whatever that aggressive chemo might buy me while living in the hospital for four, six or eight months of being able to do what I want---to take my daughter to school, pick her up from school, and take her to lunch when she wants to and be at all her school things---even if it’s for a shorter period of time," Peterson said. "We made that decision as a family."
According to the GoFundMe page, all money left over will go to help with medical bills. Watch the video below, courtesy of Good Deed Revolution.
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Featured Image Source: Good Deed Revolution