Nicholas was diagnosed with cancer at just 2 years old. During his treatment, he was confined to a hospital room for 100 nights. Unable to walk for the first three weeks of treatment, he was motivated to take his first steps into a hospital playroom where he found comfort playing with toy drills and hammers.  From that point on, driving plastic toy nails into his bed became part of his therapy and treatment. 

A social worker referred Nicholas to Make-A-Wish and his wish to be a construction worker was put into motion. Can you imagine Nicholas’ excitement on his wish day arriving at EDA Contractors in a dump truck?   

Named Chief Excavation Officer for a day, he was outfitted with a custom hard hat, work boots, employee lanyard and utility vest. Nicholas spent the day doing many things he dreamed of like riding in a “digger,” learning how to lay bricks, and was gifted his own riding tractor to experience at home.  

His mom Dana shared, “To see him ride in the digger and just to know how badly he wanted to do that is, as a mom, the best thing ever. He’ll get to share these stories with his grandparents, with his extended family.  He’ll tell this story forever. We are so in awe of this day and this is more than we could have ever dreamed of or imagined and we’re just so thankful to Make-A-Wish and to EDA for making this so absolutely amazing and making all of his dreams – of our dreams – come true.” 

This day was not only a meaningful experience to Nicholas and his family, but also the staff at EDA Contractors. “What Make-A-Wish has done is allowed us to connect on a human being level and really connect as people and I think the company can really feel proud about themselves, about giving back. When they’re involved doing these things, you can see a level of enthusiasm and real appreciation and pride about what they’re doing,” remarked Ed DeAngelis, CEO. 

This will be a day that Nicholas will remember forever. His dad Louis added, “Coming here today, we knew it was going to be an emotional experience, and then the actual experience – I had no idea – this well exceeds our and Nicholas’ wildest dreams. I don’t think I could ever express my level of gratitude to those who have helped us. This truly means so much to us.”