An 11-year-old cancer patient was given VIP treatment at a John Deere factory Dec. 3.
Employees at John Deere Harvester Works gave Johnny Becker, a fan of farming and John Deere equipment, and his three siblings a private tour of the facility. The tour included an up-close look at the process of putting together a combine, and as an added bonus, paint department workers programmed a robotic arm to write Becker's name on a piece of paper, WQAD reported.
"He chose to visit us, and it's truly very humbling," said David Thompson, a machine repairman.
Becker's grandfather and uncle are farmers, and his father owns a landscaping company—all use John Deere equipment, WQAD 8 reported.
"These poor kids, they've been dealt a bad blow. We try to keep in touch with them after they leave, you know, it's kind of like we take them into our family," said Randy Parker, a John Deere employee.
Becker, who is currently battling an inoperable brain tumor, scheduled his visit to the factory days before starting his eighth round of chemotherapy.
