Dighton Fire Department to Host Touch-A-Truck Event, Donations to Benefit Local Firefighting Families

DIGHTON – Chief Christopher Maguy is pleased to announce that the Dighton Fire Department will hold its third annual touch-a-truck event in September.

WHEN:

Saturday, Sept. 14, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

WHERE:

Manheim New England, 123 Williams St., North Dighton

WHAT:

Public safety and construction vehicles will be featured at the event, giving children the opportunity to see and sit inside firetrucks, ambulances, police cruisers and other vehicles.

The touch-a-truck event is free to attend. However, the Dighton Fire Department will be collecting donations for two local children with congenital heart defects.

Finnley Silva was born in January 2017 and is the son of Taunton Firefighter Jon Silva and his wife Emily. Finnley was diagnosed with hypoplastic left heart syndrome with mitral stenosis and aortic atresia. His heart functions using only one ventricle. Finnley was recently discharged after being hospitalized at Boston Children’s Hospital. He had the first two heart surgeries of a three-surgery process, but after a routine doctor’s visit it was determined his right and only ventricle was not pumping as strong as it should be. Finnley is now being evaluated for a heart transplant.

Baby Paul Gordon was born in January 2019 and was diagnosed with critical aortic stenosis with coarctation of the aorta. Paul is the son of Paul Gordon Jr. and his wife Lauren. Gordon is the brother of Taunton Firefighter Roberto Gonzalez. Baby Paul’s heart abnormalities narrow blood flow throughout the body and put pressure on his left ventricle. Paul has undergone several cardiac catheterizations and two open heart surgeries to date. He will require future surgeries to repair or replace the valves in his heart as he grows. Paul is currently home recovering after spending much of the first five months of his life at Boston Children’s Hospital.

Both children need extensive medical care that requires their families to travel to Boston Children’s Hospital for treatment. These hospital stays often result in unexpected costs to the families.

Congenital heart defects are the most common birth defects, occurring in about 1 percent of births in the U.S. About 25 percent of those babies affected will need surgical intervention, like Finley and Paul, to survive.

“These children demonstrate unwavering strength and resilience as they face multiple surgeries and long recovery periods at such a young age,” Chief Maguy said. “It is our hope that this event will raise awareness of congenital heart defects in infants and that we can help support these families so Finnley and Paul can live their lives to the fullest.”

Along with collecting donations at the event, people may also choose to donate directly to Boston Children’s Hospital in the families’ names. Donations to the Gordon family may also be made via GoFundMe: https://www.gofundme.com/f/baby-gordon.

In the event of rain, the touch-a-truck event will be held Saturday, Sept. 21.

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