'All aboard!': Austin boy with congenital heart disease becomes CTA operator on World Wish Day

CHICAGO (WLS) -- A young boy got to live his dream of becoming a CTA operator thanks to the Make-A-Wish Foundation on Monday.

Idris Lockett was diagnosed with congenital heart disease when he was born.

The 9-year-old said operating a Chicago Transit Authority Green Line train himself was everything he dreamt of.

"All aboard!" he said, as the community cheered him on.

He took his passengers, family and Make-A-Wish supporters from Austin through the Loop.

"I can't describe it in words. I just feel a lot of emotion, overwhelming," his mother Catherine Campbell said.

Lockett was diagnosed with hypoplastic left heart syndrome at birth. He has had three surgeries to treat his condition, his mother said.

"If anyone knows Idris, we call him hero," Campbell said. "He absolutely loves the CTA train. He'll pick the CTA train over Chuck E. Cheese any day."

The Make-A-Wish Foundation said experiences like these help kids find the joy again.

"Logistically speaking, this is kind of a complicated wish," Senior Communications Manager for Make-A-Wish Illinois Jessica Miller said. "We live in a big city, so there's a lot of people we need to connect with. Every last one of them was happy to be a part of it."

His family thanked the CTA for granting this life-changing wish on World Wish Day.