‘Message of hope’: Semitrucks carry young patient’s story across country

The story of one 7-year-old boy’s health care journey will be taking the country by storm this year.

A larger-than-life image of UC Davis Children’s Hospital patient Shine Arslanian appears on the sides of two semitrucks from Knight Transportation and Swift Transportation. The truck also includes photos of the Children’s Hospital transport team, a 24/7 unit that connects children in 33 counties in Northern California like Shine, with specialized pediatric care at UC Davis Children’s Hospital.

Both trucks will cross the country in 2025. It is part of the trucking companies’ Fleet of Miracles campaign, which raises awareness for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals.

Born five weeks early in 2017, Shine weighed just 4.5 pounds and was transported to UC Davis Children’s Hospital, where he was diagnosed with two very rare genetic conditions. He has had 17 surgeries to date, including the amputation of his legs above the knee at 2 years old. Still, he has not let these challenges hold him back. He hopes to be a Paralympic athlete one day.

“We’re really hoping that our story can be a message of hope to other families,” said Shine’s mother, Jamie Duby.

The semitrucks made a special stop on the UC Davis Health campus last week, giving hospital employees, as well as Shine and his first-grade class, the chance to see them up close.

“I like it,” declared Shine when he first saw himself on the trucks.

This is the third year for the Fleet of Miracles, a collaboration between Knight Transportation and Swift Transportation to raise awareness for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals.