Girl battling cancer sworn in as honorary police officer, promises to keep fighting 'the bad guys'
A 6-year-old girl who is battling cancer was sworn in as an honorary police officer in Freeport, Texas. The ceremony was shared on social media.
Honorary officer Abigail Rose Arias promised to continue to be kind to others and to help her police family at all times. She also vowed to keep fighting the “bad guys” inside her despite her cancer returning for a second time. Abigail has Wilms tumor, a type of kidney cancer in children.
Freeport Police Chief Ray Garivey Jr. swore the brave girl in and shared the video on Facebook on Thursday. As his voice cracked, he read the oath, pausing to allow Abigail time to repeat the lines, “I now and forever promise to keep fighting the bad guys… until all my cancer is gone.”
“The chemo and radiation hasn’t worked and basically the family is now leaving it in God’s hands and praying for a miracle,” Garivey told CNN.
Abigail’s mom, Ilene Arias, told KTRK: “They basically said it’s time to enjoy some life. [It’s] extremely tough. We cried for a few weeks.”
Added Abigail’s dad, Ruben Arias: “To go through this and to realize that there is nothing you can do for your kid, as a parent, it was tough. It was very tough on us.”
But Abigail is strong, and she told her mother that the bad guys won’t win this time.
Garivey first met Abigail in December, during the department’s “Pancakes with Santa” event. There, she told the police chief that she wanted to be an officer when she grows up.
“Her terrific smile and will to keep fighting ‘the bad guys’ inside of her — I wanted to make her dream come true,” Garivey told CNN.
So Garivey reached out to an organization in Pearland called Cop Stop, which was able to make a custom Freeport police uniform for Abigail. On Feb. 7, Abigail was surrounded by her family and officers from a number of agencies around Texas for her swearing in.
“Her spirit, her toughness, her will to survive, that’s what [we believe in],” Garivey said.
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