- November 6, 2024
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Cameron Fulling called the firefighters at Palm Coast Fire Department 92 his "boys." Courtesy photo
Cameron was able to help put out a fire with his fellow fire fighter. Courtesy photo
The Tampa Bay Devil Rays welcomed Cameron and several others last season. Courtesy photo
Cameron became an honorary firefighter the last few years of his life. Courtesy photo
Cameron often threw out the first pitch at several baseball games. File photo
Cameron got a hit after spending a day in chemotherapy. File photo
Daniel, Mackenzie, Cameron, Melisa and Carter Fulling Courtesy photo
Cameron Daniel Fulling left behind an impactful legacy, and his standing-room only Celebration of Life traditional firefighter memorial service attested to it on Saturday, April 15, at Palm Coast United Methodist Church.
Cameron loved the fire department. He was named an honorary fire fighter by multiple departments throughout the country, and dozens attended his service, along with other local and out-of-town community service members.
Before Cameron’s memorial service, Pastor Ivan Reyes, the Flagler Baseball chaplain who delivered the eulogy, spoke with Cam’s father, Daniel, who assumed that roughly 100 locals would attend his son’s service. He was several hundred short.
When asked if she could’ve imagined Cameron making such an impact in so little time, Cam’s mother Melisa replied with a resounding, “No.”
“There were firefighters who came from other states!” Melisa exclaimed. “I was literally blown away; I had no idea.”
Reyes, Daniel Fulling, former New Smyrna Beach Fire Chief David McCallister and Cameron’s karate instructor Sensei Dave Grabner each shared stories about Cameron that characterized him as a funny, selfless, ice-cream-loving firefighter.
Who was Cameron Fulling?
One day at the Flagler Baseball fields, Cameron and Reyes were kicking a soccer ball back-and-forth, because Cam had just gotten out of chemotherapy and was really sick but didn’t want to sit out. Reyes said his competitive nature went in overdrive, and he, “thinking I was Messi,” kicked the ball hard past Cameron, which caused him to fall back.
In a prior medical operation, a piece of Cameron's skull in the back of his head had been removed, leaving a permanent soft spot only covered with mesh.
“I was horrified and so worried at his fall,” said Reyes in the service, “I first looked to make sure Melisa hadn't seen what happened and then went over to pick up Cameron, who was laughing. I told Cameron, ‘Hey buddy, you are going to get me in trouble. You can't be falling.’ Cameron replied with his signature giggles, ‘Well you're the adult.’ This drew roaring laughter from everyone in the service.
When Daniel Fulling worked for Frito Lay selling Flamin’ Hot Cheetos, he said that Carter, his oldest son, “thought it would be cool to light one of the chips on fire and throw it in the garbage, seeing Cameron had become an honorary fireman.
“Luckily the house didn’t go up in flames,” Fulling said, “but it was close.” This also received much laughter.
Former New Smyrna Beach Fire Chief David McCallister had named Cameron an honorary firefighter when he was the fire chief. McCallister gave Cameron his first mission, which was to go to Dairy Queen and “clear all hazards from the ice cream to determine it safe to eat.” He easily accomplished his first mission.
Lastly, Grabner — who had also been diagnosed with cancer after Cam was diagnosed —survived his cancer and was preparing to walk in the 2015 Relay for Life event, which was scheduled on Cameron’s birthday. He wanted Cameron to walk with him, but Melisa told him that they had already prepared birthday parties, and family was coming in town. Shortly after that phone call, Melisa called him back and said, “I just want you to let you know that Cam has made the decision to forego his parties, and he wants to walk with you.”
“That’s Cameron,” said Grabner, to the sound of many heartfelt responses.
Cameron died on Thursday, April 6, just 12 days short of his 10th birthday. While he may not have lived a long life, Cameron Fulling lived a full life. His fight with cancer impacted thousands of lives around the country, because he lived with this motto that Team Cameron, a local group of supporters, has adopted: “And in the end, it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years.”
