Dreams do come true; wishes too

Houlton Pioneer Times Photo/Karen Donato
FULFILLING A WISH — The Nickerson family, owners of Nickerson Construction in New Limerick fulfilled the wish of little eight-year-old Leif Dahlk, front-center, with a ride on a bulldozer and other construction equipment. From left are brothers, Duane and David Nickerson with their mother, Estelle, Leif’s mother, Paula, holding two-year-old David and his father, Steve. Leif’s sisters, six-year-old, Meysha and four-year-old, Elizabeth are standing in front of their dad. Duane Nickerson is holding a handcrafted bulldozer-piñata made by Paula Dahlk.
By Karen Donato
Staff Writer
LITTLETON — On Saturday, 8-year-old Leif (pronounced Laif) Dahlk of Littleton was treated to a dream come true; having a ride in a bulldozer and even getting to drive a skid steer. This dream came true thanks to Nickerson Construction of New Limerick and local representatives with the Maine, Make-A-Wish Foundation.
    Leif, the son of Stephen and Paula Dahlk was diagnosed three years ago with Hodgkin’s disease. He has undergone chemotherapy and had a bone-marrow transplant. Leif has been in remission for more than two years now.
    At the time of diagnosis the Dahlk family was living in Tennessee and were caregivers to an elderly person, but when their son was stricken with cancer they were no longer able to devote themselves to others. Their main focus would be the best possible care of their son.
    Encouraged by friends to make a move to Maine they came to Littleton in 2005 and purchased a small camp. Steve is a carpenter by trade and has been transforming the small structure into a home for his wife and their four children since then.
    Leif has received all of his treatment in Bangor and Boston. The Dahlks, not having any family or close friends here took the children, Elizabeth, 4 and Meysha, 6, with them when Leif was undergoing treatments. Paula decided the only way to keep Leif from missing school was to undertake the job of home-schooling herself. When he was in isolation, she and the little ones would carry on with lessons. Since the time of diagnosis, another son, David was born into the family and is now 2.
Houlton Pioneer Times Photo/Karen Donato
A BIG WAVE — Leif Dahlk gives everyone a big wave as he rides in a bulldozer. The Make-A-Wish Foundation assisted with the 8-year-old’s wish to have a ride in a bulldozer.
    “It has been a difficult experience for everyone,” said Steve, “Our lives were torn apart when Leif developed the disease.”
    Marilyn Carey and Karen King, local volunteers for the Make-A-Wish Foundation learned about Leif and his illness. They met with him and his family and found out about his love for bulldozers.
    Learning that this organization granted wishes the Dahlks were a bit afraid they might become the owners of one very large piece of machinery. However, after meeting with Carey and King they were assured that would be something beyond the monetary guidelines and not appropriate for a then 7-year-old. The average budget to fulfill a wish is $6,000. Consulting with the family and Leif individually, the bulldozer ride became the enhancement to a specially designed treehouse to be built in the spring of 2010.
    Once the wish was put in place, the Nickerson family of New Limerick was contacted to see if they would have an interest in providing a bulldozer ride for a special young boy. Without hesitation, Estelle Nickerson along with her sons, Duane and David said ‘yes’.
    The Dahlks did not tell Leif about the plan. Instead they told him they would be going to a party and that they needed to create a special piñata for it. Paula handcrafts piñatas, an art she learned and has perfected through her need to teach art in the home-school curriculum. This past summer she and her children participated in many craft fairs in the area selling the piñatas and even Leif created earrings to sell. So with guidance from Leif, Paula, who said she had no clue how to make a bulldozer made the piñata following the details from her son, who is very much an authority on many pieces of construction equipment.
Houlton Pioneer Times Photo/Karen Donato
IN CHARGE — Eight-year-old Leif Dahlk had his dream come true on Sept. 19 when Duane Nickerson of Nickerson Construction let him take the controls of a skid steer at the Nickerson yard in New Limerick. This was part of A-Make-A-Wish event organized by local representatives, Marilyn Carey, Karen King and Penny Saunders.
    After Leif and his family arrived at the Nickerson Construction site in New Limerick, Carey informed Leif that this party was for him and that he was going to have a ride in a bulldozer!
    With that announcement Leif’s eyes sparkled and his grin stretched ear to ear, although hardly believing what he was hearing.
    A crowd of about 40 people was on hand to see Leif’s reaction and see his excitement when he heard the news.
    After the initial ride, Leif and his younger guests participated in breaking the piñata inside the big garage that had been especially cleaned for the event, as well as the equipment. A bulldozer cake was presented to Leif along with a couple of toy bulldozers and a transformer photo of Leif taken earlier in the summer.
    When asked what he thought of the day, Leif said, “It is great! I like machinery quite a lot and I like parties. The best part was driving the skid steer. I could probably drive it until night and I’d like to drive it home.”
    “What would you like to say to the people that planned this party?” I asked him.
    He thought for a second and said, “Thank you. I had fun in the bulldozer and it is the best surprise I’ve ever had.”
    In the spring of 2010, the rest of his wish will come true. Designs are being worked on for a treehouse and the necessary paperwork required for it is being completed.
    He thinks it needs a tower, three floors and a security system, so he can see who is coming to visit. Who knows, maybe that part of the wish will come true, as well.
    Steve and Paula are very appreciative of the Make-A-Wish Foundation and what they are doing for their son.
    “We are overwhelmed by the support we have been shown and feel very blessed,” said Steve. “Although we wish Leif had not been diagnosed with this disease, this outpouring reinforces our belief in helping others.”
    This is the first time there has been a wish granted in the greater Houlton area. The Maine-Make-A-Wish Foundation has offices in Camden and granted 97 wishes in 2008. They fulfill a wish nearly every five days. Carey and King have been a part of the organization for three years. The Maine organization raises funds through a variety of events and private donations.
    For more information on the foundation, visit www.mainewish.org. or call Carey at 532-6426.