- Katherine Johnson, 42, from Hamilton, NZ wanted to make her boy Ollie’s birthday extra special
- He loves trucks, so she posted to Facebook asking if a truckie would like to give her boy a ride
- Amazingly, over 60 truckies came to the rescue
Here Katherine tells her story in her own words.
‘Ollie, your truck magazine’s arrived!’ I said to my youngest, then seven, as I sorted through the mail.
My boy absolutely loves trucks and his dream is to be a truckie.
For every birthday and Christmas, my husband Simon, 42, and our girls Katie, 18, and Chay, 17, buy Ollie a toy truck or a book about his favourite vehicles.
Since he was a toddler, Ollie has struggled with tummy issues, which has meant he’s missed out on some school. Having trouble making mates, I worried about his loneliness.
So with Ollie’s eighth birthday approaching this July, I wanted it to be extra special.
Brainstorming with Simon and the girls, we wondered if a truckie might be keen to take Ollie for a spin!
That would make his day! I thought.
So I posted a message in our local community Facebook group.
Looking for a truck driver to help a little boy… he has no-one to invite to his party, I wrote.
Within just 10 minutes, lots of lovely truckies had offered to help, and one driver named Barry Hart reached out to me with an idea.
‘I’ll organise a convoy of trucks!’ he said, when we spoke on the phone.
‘Our boy couldn’t wipe the grin off his face.’
On the big day, Barry’s lovely son Josh, in his mid-20s, came to pick up Ollie in his pink truck which had Kindness is one size fits all emblazoned across it.
After being bullied as a kid, Josh drives his pink truck around Auckland, NZ, to help spread his important message.
My boy beamed when he saw the truck pull up.
After he hopped into the front, I led the way in my car.
Soon after, we arrived at Barry’s yard where a mind-blowing 65 trucks flashed their headlights and honked their horns at Ollie’s arrival.
Our boy couldn’t wipe the grin off his face.
Now Ollie just had to decide which truck he’d ride in for the 30-minute convoy across Hamilton to Cambridge – and he picked his all-time favourite, a black Kenworth, which was driven by truckie Dan.
‘This is the best day of my life!’ Ollie said once we were back at Barry’s yard.
For the next few hours, he hung out with the truckies, hopping in and out of their trucks.
Many of them also gave Ollie a bunch of beautiful birthday gifts.
I was blown away by their kindness.
Since Ollie’s surprise birthday, he’s been so happy. And we’re still in touch with many of the wonderful truckies and their families.
We’re forever grateful to them for saving Ollie’s birthday. They made it an absolute hoot!
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