Seaside boy with kidney cancer granted wish to be builder

Renzo, a 3-year-old Seaside resident who suffers from Wilm’s tumor, will live his dream of working as a construction foreman through the efforts of Make-A-Wish® Greater Bay Area and Graniterock of Watsonville. The two organizations have united to grant Renzo his wish of being a builder.

A special day has been arranged to give Renzo a true experience of what it is like to be a construction foreman.
On July 8, a big rig transfer truck will pick up Renzo at his home in Seaside and drive him to Graniterock’s A.R. Wilson Quarry in Aromas, where he will have a front row seat on several mighty machines - including a Caterpillar 777D, a D-11 dozer and Krupp crusher, the world’s largest rubber-tired mobile rock crusher. Renzo will also operate a remote-controlled diesel train engine and tour the quarry’s truck repair shop.

Renzo has been fascinated with tools and trucks since he was a baby. Despite his age and illness, Renzo can explain almost every tool in his father’s toolbox. Renzo and his father, who works as a firefighter, often use the tools to work on his motorcycle. “This was an amazing therapy for both of them,” Renzo’s mother Crystal said. During play time, Renzo always builds a construction yard with his many toy trucks, tools and diggers. “Since Renzo was 10 months-old, he has had an unbelievable imagination and fascination with Mighty Machines," Crystal said. (Mighty Machines is a DVD set that uses real footage of heavy equipment machines to show how they are used.)

“There is nothing more delightful than being able to witness a young child experience their fondest wish. Renzo has loved construction trucks since he was an infant, and will be able to see all of these incredible machines up close, riding in the cab, using the controls—this wish is the one thing his parents say helped him keep his mind off of treatment ” says Make-A-Wish Greater Bay Area Executive Director, Patricia Wilson. Media are invited to cover this heartfelt event. Lunch will be served. Please RSVP with Graniterock at 831.768.2068.

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