Mason Willard has always had an appreciation for muscle cars.
When Carla Willard asked a simple favor of a caregiver who works with her at Logan Regional Hospital, he did it so fast it made her scream in fear.
It started in the Intermountain parking garage where Carla, who is a Mohs technician in Budge Clinic Dermatology, heard the impatient rumbling of a very powerful car reverberating through the garage. After months of trying to spot the car’s driver, she finally saw Bryan Hirst parking his 2015 Mustang GT and she approached him. Bryan, a systems support technician, was worried.
“I was thinking someone had been complaining about my loud car,” he says.
Bryan Hirst laughs as he shows his 2015 Mustang GT off to Mason Willard.
Carla loved the sound of his car and she was thinking about how much her son Mason would like to see and possibly ride in this car. Mason has spinocerebellar ataxia, an affliction that affects his cerebellum, impacting speech and balance. She says her son didn’t begin to experience symptoms of his genetic disease until he was on a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She says even then, while he was on his mission, the pictures he would send home were of muscle cars he’d come across on the streets. She knew it would brighten his day to actually ride in such a powerful car.
Bryan wasn’t only willing to help out; he doubled the favor and recruited another caregiver, his friend, Carl Egbert, an Intermountain licensed electrician, who drives a 2012 Shelby GT 500, to help.
When the two deep rumbling cars rolled up in the nearly empty Intermountain parking lot on a Saturday afternoon recently, it almost looked like it could be the start of a grudge match in the movie franchise Fast and Furious. When Mason rolled up in his wheelchair, smiling from ear to ear, it was clear this would prove a memorable day for him.
Mason was soon off for a ride with Bryan, with his mother hitching a ride in the back seat. Carla says Bryan asked her son if he’d like him to peel out as he was about to start and his son smiled and said, “Yes, let’s burn some rubber.”
Carl Egbert brought his 2012 Shelby GT 500 to the party.
Bryan just did the same types of things anyone does in a car but little things, such as accelerating after a stop light and turning, are all new experiences when all the power of a 5.0 liter engine is at your disposal and the car is making the neighborhood sound like a Daytona speedway.
When they got back Carl took them for a ride. He says Carla made herself known from the back seat.
“There was some screaming, but she said she had fun,” Carl says. “She said she had a blast.”
Carla says the car rides were an experience for her too.
“It was super fun,” she says laughing. “It did take a little while for my heart to go back to normal.”
She says she appreciated Bryan and Carl taking time to make her son’s day.
“Oh, they’re awesome,” Carla says of Bryan and Carl. “It’s a crazy world and I feel like we all need to see the good that's happening. I feel like when you see something good happening, it makes you look for things that maybe you could also contribute, because you’re hearing about everyday random people doing good stuff.”
Carl says he benefited from the experience,
“It was a blessing,” Carl says. “I met some wonderful people. Mason is a wonderful kid and his mom… I can’t say enough nice things about her.”
Carla says Mason has had his own share of challenges and pushed his own limits but experiencing life in the fast lane in two muscle cars was new to him.
She says she asked him what he liked best about his experience. She said her good-natured son is always joking.
“It’s hard to live on the edge when you’re in a wheelchair every day,” he said.