Pink Fire Truck Named 'Christine' Visited Cancer Patients in Livermore

By AUTUMN JOHNSON

When a pink fire truck named "Christine" pulls up in front of a house, it is tough not to smile.

"Christine" made a couple of very important stops in Livermore this weekend, visiting two Livermore residents, both suffering from cancer and each needing all the support they can get as they fight the fight of their lives. That is where Christine comes in. 

Delaney Newton, 3, and 45-year-old Karen Powell were visited by the bubblegum pink fire truck owned by "Guardians of the Ribbon- Pink Heals," along with members of the Livermore Pleasanton Fire Department on Saturday morning. 

Powell and Newton each got a ride in the fire truck and were able to sign their names on the side of the rig, a tradition whenever the truck makes a visit to a cancer survivor. 

Livermore Pleasanton Fire Battalion Chief Jack Neiman-Kimel, told Patch, via email:

"The Livermore-Pleasanton Firefighters Foundation donated fire shirts for each of Karen's family members.  Once everybody met Karen, she was put in the pink fire engine with her daughter and they went for a ride around the neighborhood. There were also about 30 members of the community who showed up as well.  Firefighters and those in the community who have been touched by cancer were also able to put their messages on the pink fire engine. It was a powerful time for those involved."

Newton has been battling brain cancer since last fall. Her father is a member of the Livermore Pleasanton Fire Department.  For every day that Newton has spent in the hospital, her parents posted an inspirational quote on her headboard. One of the first was one by Shakespeare: “And though she be but little she is fierce.” 

The quote became part of the journey and was incorporated into T-shirts her supporters have purchased and wear.

“It’s fitting,” Travis Newton, Newton's uncle, says. “She’s two-and-a-half and has undergone more medical procedures than most people do in their lives.”