Las Cruces teen fulfills dream of flying in helicopter

LAS CRUCES, New Mexico - After forming a lasting bond with a hospital nurse, a Las Cruces teen fulfilled his lifelong dream of flying in a helicopter on Saturday morning.

"I was expecting the greatest time of my life," said Sebastian Teran.

Three years ago, Teran lost his brother, who served at Ft. Wainwright in Fairbanks, Alaska. His company was Blackhawk Helicopter base Arctic Attack 1-25th ARB.

"We went to Alaska for a memorial," said Robin Teran, his mother. "There was a lovely person there who allowed Sebastian to get up and climb into the helicopters and sit in the cockpit and touch the buttons. We just saw this spark hit him."

"It just fueled my fascination of helicopters," Sebastian said.

While he was hospitalized in Memorial Medical Center's Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, the teenager formed a bond with his nurse, Brenda Arnett, who was previously a flight nurse.

"I made a connection with him and his family," said Arnett, whose husband, Kyle, is a helicopter pilot for Native Air.

The caring nurse made the promise that her husband would take Sebastian for a ride in the helicopter once he was out of the hospital and in stable condition.

On February 15th, that dream finally came true.

"He was totally into it and talking about it," said Joe Teran. "This morning, I was a little nervous about it."

“You never know when a child will find their spark in life," said Kyle Arnett. "Why not help when you can?”