'Best Birthday Ever': Emergency Crews Surprise Boy Battling Rare Diseases

NORWICH, CT —After enduring a difficult month, little Dominic Cann was in for a special gift for his 5th birthday that showed how a simple act of kindness can overpower the suffering from complex diseases, if only for a day. The boy's face beamed in joy at the site of the gift: a fire truck and a handful of ambulances stopping in front of his house.

The sight of an ambulance was not new to the boy, having ridden in one a number of times before. On this day, though, he would not be placed inside of one and taken to the hospital.

"[Dominic] had no idea and he was so surprised," his mother, 33-year old Melissa Cann said. "He was a bit nervous because he has had to ride in an ambulance before."

Instead of leaving with the emergency workers, Dominic was given his own firefighter hat, which he wore proudly in front of the firefighters at his doorstep. He was then given a bag full of birthday cards to add to the stack of more than 100 cards he had yet to open.

To cap it all off, Dominic was able to take a group photo with all the emergency crews.

This special moment came as a result of his mother's appeal to the community to help give her son a great birthday this year. She didn't have to ask twice.

The community answered with free subs, a visit from the fire truck and more. The day, the mother said, was Dominic's "best birthday ever."

Rare Diseases

Though still so young, Dominic has been struggling with rare diseases for most of his life. They cause him to endure symptoms such as vomiting, mouth ulcers and sudden fever attacks and tend to ruin a special occasion like his birthday.

Cann said she and her husband, Chris, learned when their son was only a year old about some of the challenges he would face.

"This disease is a primary immunodeficiency called hypogammagloblinemia," Cann said. "It is the reduction of IgG antibodies...an immune disorder characterized by a reduction in all types of gamma globulins, including antibodies that help fight infection. He was born without the ability to make enough to keep him well."

Cann said her son has been on immunoglobulin therapy for more than two years, for which he is given a medication made up of donated human blood plasma. Small needles are used in this treatment to infuse the medication into Dominic's fatty tissue each week.

Cann said this treatment gives him a temporary immune system, and he has been doing notably well since May as direct result of this.

It is not a complete victory however, as Dominic was also recently diagnosed with an autoinflammatory disease known as periodic fever syndromes. Cann said this condition causes her son to have monthly attacks, with symptoms including a sore throat, mouth ulcers, rashes, intense migraines, body aches and vomiting.

This made the month of August extremely challenging for young Dominic, as these attacks began happening so close together each week.

"Due to his medication to treat these attacks, which is a low dose of oral steroids at the onset of an attack, they were becoming so close [together] that he only had about a week in between them," Cann said. "At this point it was not clear whether or not to have Dominic start school or if he would be healthy enough to have a birthday party."

Cann said Dominic typically becomes ill around his birthday, so the family has something small for him to celebrate. This year however, things would play out a little different.

To The Rescue

On September 7, Dominic was happily greeted by the sight of ambulance cars and a firetruck pulling up to his driveway as he watched excitedly. (For more information on this and other neighborhood stories, subscribe to Patch to receive daily newsletters and breaking news alerts.)

Cann said her son was ecstatic to see the all the vehicles. He had no idea the visit was happening that day, and was appropriately very surprised when a firefighter approached him and asked if it was his birthday.

"[Dominic] is a little shy when he meets people for the first time," Cann said, "but he will break out of that shell once he gets to know the person or people.

Cann said local firefighters, police, paramedics and EMT's wrote about 100 cards for Dominic, which were hand-delivered to him personally by the emergency crews.

He was also given a firefighter hat and a number of special patches from each department, which he appropriately wanted to add to his special superhero cape.

"He knew right away where he wanted to put [the patches]," Cann said in a Facebook post. "This cape follows him every time he has something that may be scary or hard to deal with."

Cann said Dominic was also given hundreds of cards and presents from Jersey Mike's Subs in Norwich, who provided the whole family with complimentary lunch.

"They are such a wonderful company," Cann said. "We brought Dominic there and you could feel the love they had for him as soon as they had met him."

The Best Few Weeks In A While

When asked how she felt about all the kindness shown to her son, Cann said she and her husband feel blessed to be part of the Norwich community in light of this outpouring of selflessness.

"As a parent it is hard to see your child become so sick so frequently," Cann said. "You do everything in your power to bring hope and positivity to your child's situation. When your life as a parent is more focused on the medical aspect of your child's care, it is a breathe of fresh air when things start to improve and your child can have a break from the medical side of everything."

They are also thankful to everyone who sent cards, presents and other thoughtful gifts to their son, all in an effort to make his special day a little brighter; for truly coming to the rescue when their family needed it.

"We are so blessed to have each one of [them] become a page in Dominic story of his life," Cann said, "one that he will always look back on and remember how much everyone cared for him when he really needed it. We thank you for giving us, as his parents, the greatest gift of all: his happiness."

Images courtesy Melissa Cann

Video via Our Zebra Dominic Facebook page