The Make-A-Wish Foundation and a Nebraska community helped a Milwaukee-area boy with cancer live out his love for trains.
Bentley Dodge was diagnosed with retinoblastoma in 2017 when his family noticed he was having issues with his eye.
When Bentley got to "make a wish" his choice was no surprise to his family.
"We really don't know why he loves trains. But it started pretty young," said Ryan Dodge, Bentley's Dad. "From one and a half to two-years-old. He just absolutely loves them."
Bentley got a VIP tour of Bailey Yard, the world's largest railroad classification yard for his wish.
"I was thinking, 'woah, these are the kinds of trains I like,'" said Bentley.
Bentley's dad says he thinks his favorite part of the tour was watching the trains get fixed.
"He was on the platform and got to look over all of the trains, so that was really fun to see," said Ryan. "He was really digging that."
Bentley's love for the steam engines could be from living close to the railroad tracks.
"We'll sit out there for hours and look at the trains because he just loves them," said Ryan.
And when he's not watching the real trains, he's playing with toy ones.
"They're wooden and they're smaller and the tracks are smaller," said Bentley.
As far as Bentley's cancer, things seem to be looking up.
"Even though he's gone through a lot, he's a really strong little five-year-old," said Ryan. "Even when he was going through the chemo, he was super happy."
Bentley's cancer diagnosis is rare. Only about 200 kids are diagnosed with retinoblastoma every year.
