COLORADO – In tonight’s dose of good news… One UPS driver making his final delivery before retirement got the chance to make it extra special for a young man he met along his route.
UPS worker Dave Weingardt has delivered packages to thousands of homes in Colorado for more than 30 years.
“I’ve been driving down here for a long time.” Says Weingardt.
But there is one young man he developed a special bond with. 16 year old UPS fan Caleb Lambert.
“Caleb came into my life at that point for a special reason.” Says Weingardt.
“He was born with a congenital brain defect. because of his intellectual disabilities as well as severe seizures. Years and years ago, when he couldn’t even talk, we would point to the letters on the truck, and he would repeat after us, ‘UPS’. It was one of the first things he learned to say.” Says Caleb’s mom.
Dave immediately bonding with Caleb when he realized he shared a similar condition to his own teen aged son.
“My boy was 17 at that time. Caleb was 16. And, so many similarities. They just looked like each other. Their mannerisms were the same, and I knew that these two boys were special. Kaymen was 17 last year, end of March, when he passed. He had a seizure, and the same seizure he had, each time he had a seizure during sleep. And this one took his life.” Says Weingardt.
Despite his heartache, Dave stayed on the job delivering packages, keeping that connection with Caleb.
“That UPS truck, and especially Mr. David are absolutely the highlight of his day.” Says Caleb’s mom.
“Caleb, he does. He feels like he is my son. He…he… That’s why he came into my life, I think. He’s… he’s filling a void for me (chokes up). It’s special.” Says Weingardt.
When Dave recently spent his last day on the job before retiring, he wanted to make it special for Caleb too.
“Today we are making him an honorary UPS driver for the day, and he’ll be able to take this with him and remember it forever.” Says Weingardt.
Making him an honorary UPS driver for the day, complete with his own uniform.
Caleb climbed into the driver’s seat, and sounded the horn, a few times.
“He is going to be talking about this for the rest of his life. (smiling)” Says Caleb’s mom.
Then Dave and Caleb, had one last package to drop off. To Nicole, Caleb’s mom.
“We’re making it happen for Caleb today. Very special.” Says Weingardt.
A final delivery, both will never forget.
“He’s a great kid, and we need to give these kids everything we have.” Says Weingardt.