In Santa Ana, California, Jacob Hayward is a 7 year old boy who was diagnosed with stage four cancer of the kidney, which has since spread to his lungs. He has undergone multiple surgeries and radiation treatments, and more than 50 rounds of chemotherapy. But through it all, there was one thing his family could always count on to improve his day: getting a visit from their mail carrier Van Singletary.
At home, Jacob likes to dress up like a postal carrier, get the mail from Singletary, and distribute it to his family. And when Jacob was confined to the hospital, doctors, nurses, and other patients would write to him so he’d have some mail to get every day there, too. So when his seventh birthday rolled around, his mom asked Singletary if he could arrange for Jacob to have a tour of the post office. Singletary arranged that, but did so much more.
Last week, Singletary surprised Jacob for his 7th birthday with his own child-sized postal truck and a USPS uniform, too. "I wanted to make sure his wish was taken care of," Singletary says. Jacob was so excited to be driving his own mail truck. “This was just so sweet of you,” says Jacob. “I just don’t know what to say right now. Thank you so much!”