PHOTO — 'Incredibly Blessed': Texas Boy with Brain Tumor to Fly Over Baseball Game in C-130
Sean Gardner/Getty Images
A little boy in College Station, Texas, who is facing health challenges has been invited to participate in a special event on Tuesday before the Aggie Baseball team plays the Air Force.
Ten-year-old Mark Massey will join C-130 crews performing a flyover at Blue Park, thanks to a teacher who wanted to make him feel special, KBTX reported Monday.
At the beginning of 2024, Mark was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor, which led to radiation treatments. He missed out on a lot of school, so his teacher, Melissa Pontiff, and a coworker helped him with his studies at home.
When Pontiff asked the little boy what was one thing he dreamed of doing, he revealed he would love to take part in a military flyover.
Pontiff's husband, who was an active-duty Air Force lieutenant colonel and pilot at the time, took matters into his own hands and put his wife in contact with the crews scheduled for the big event that would awe crowds.
Pontiff said, “We feel incredibly blessed that he even gets this opportunity because civilians don’t typically get this opportunity.”
An image shows the little boy getting ready for the event:
On Tuesday the C-130 Crews flying over Blue Park right before the Aggie Baseball team’s matchup against the Air Force will have some special guests. https://t.co/AiJm4EnRf9
— KBTX News (@KBTXNews) April 16, 2024
In addition, a benefit lunch, silent auction, and raffle are scheduled for Tuesday to support Mark.
“Mark is an incredible light in this world, an absolute blessing to all those he meets, and, now more than ever, a fighter,” the event page reads.
In his message on the website, Mark's father, Bryan, wrote, “We ask for prayers of strength and hope. We ask that God watch over Mark and give him the courage and resilience to meet the challenges ahead.”
“We pray for his medical team. We pray for his brother. Please pray for Ali and I to be strong for Mark and for a clear head to make the best decisions for our brave little fighter,” he added.
According to the KBTX article, Bryan said his son has always loved planes, and this would be a once-in-a-lifetime experience for him.
Video footage from 2021 shows a C-130 Hercules taking off and landing:
Mark was able to sit in the pilot seat of a C-130 plane at Easterwood Airport on Monday, and Bryan said, “I mean, everybody was just so, so giving, so nice. Mark got a flight suit that they gifted to him and a medal from the baseball team. Tomorrow, we’re just excited to get on the plane and go to the game.”
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