FLORENCE, KY — For Graham Stockwell, his fourth birthday was a special one: He spent it reunited with the Florence firefighters who once saved his life.
WATCH: Florence boy has heartwarming reunion with the Florence firefighters who saved his life
Graham was born four months early, at just one pound and nine ounces.
"We spent a total of a year and a day in the hospital, so he came home on the day after his first birthday," Graham's father, Carl Stockwell, said at Thursday's celebration. "He came home on a ventilator. He had a tracheostomy and needed oxygen support as well ... he had less than a 10% chance to survive."
Once Graham finally left the hospital, Florence firefighters visited him at his home and documented his medical needs, as part of the Cincinnati Children's Hospital's "Heroes Program."
"Cincinnati Children's Hospital reaches out to fire departments with the Heroes Program to let us know that there's a complex kid in [our] area," Florence FD Battalion Chief Danielle Stiner explained. "What happens from there is they help orchestrate family meetings and home visits with the fire department."
Just four days after the Florence Fire Department visited Graham, firefighters and Graham's family worked together to save his life.
"Here we are giving our son Graham CPR, and within two to three minutes, Florence Fire and EMS are right on our backs, right up in his room, stepping in, asking where they can help in ensuring his survival and ensuring we had every single thing we need to make sure that he made it to the next day," Carl Stockwell said.
On Thursday, Graham celebrated his fourth birthday with the firefighters who responded to the home that very night.
"This is nothing we expected. We thought we were going to come and just be able to check out the fire trucks," Carl Stockwell said.
Now, Graham has just one birthday wish: to one day become a firefighter himself.
"He wears his fire truck outfit at home all the time. He loves playing with his little fire trucks," Graham's dad explained with a smile Thursday. "For him to get here and see him in person, I have no doubt he'll want to be a fireman one day, and he already does."
