UNION COUNTY, N.C. — Monday, Nov. 28, 2022 is a date 16-year-old high school student Chase will never forget. He finally got his wish. Make-A-Wish Central & Western North Carolina made sure of that, after hearing about his serious condition.
Chase was diagnosed with melanoma and is currently being treated for this malignant skin cancer. It’s a long process that leaves him very tired and weak. But he fights through it and stays in school and does all things teenagers love to do.
What Chase really likes is cars -- most of all his 1999 GMC pickup. Even though Chase took care of the maintenance, the 23-year-old vehicle needed a lot of work.
Eder Perez is a platinum-certified collision repair, auto body, and paint technician. He and his crew heard about Chase and his dream to have a completely upgraded truck.
Using their skills, the transformation happened -- 10 different specialists were used in the process.
Lauren Greene and the team from Make-a-Wish put a plan together. Along with staff, family, friends, the media, and the student body of Piedmont High School came together to present Chase with his made-over pickup.
It was all done in a surprise “move that bus” style.
Chase walked-up to a newly-upgraded, remodeled pick-up truck. It was completely restored with a custom paint job, new rims, wheels, tires, sound system, and other fun additions.
The soft-spoken teenager was almost speechless, but ready to take his “victory red” beloved truck for a spin in the high school parking lot, which he did with a happy smile on his face.
Contact Larry Sprinkle at lsprinkle@wcnc.com and follow him on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.