SARASOTA, Fla. — One 4-year-old boy from Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey, received the trip of his dreams when he was surprised with a visit to the Sarasota Police Department.
Not only did he visit the police station, but Andrew became an honorary member.
The 4-year-old has undergone surgery, numerous rounds of chemotherapy and a variety of other treatments for neuroblastoma, and he only had one wish, Make-A-Wish said: to have a beach vacation in Florida.
"When Make-A-Wish reached out to us and asked to talk to Andrew about what he wanted to do, he said, 'Well, I want to go to the beach,'" Michael Pickart, Andrew's dad said. "He has memories of doing that before he got sick."
He also mentioned something about liking the police, Pickart said. Once Make-A-Wish representatives began planning Andrew's trip itinerary and knew about his fascination with police chasing "bad guys," they decided to go above and beyond to bring Andrew a day unlike any other.
4-year-old becomes honorary member at Sarasota Police Department through Make-A-Wish
Andrew was sworn in as an honorary officer with the Sarasota Police Department, received a uniform and participated in a photo shoot. He even got to meet Police Chief Rex Troche, received a tour of police patrol cars, and was included in a demonstration involving K-9s. The SWAT team also rappelled from the building.
"We just jumped at the chance, we quickly got a lot of units in motion and we were able to put some things together," Troche said. "We're hoping that he enjoyed it, but the goal for us was to make this a special day for him."
Andrew, his parents, Anhthu and Michael Pickart, all got to soak in the day dedicated to the 4-year-old.
"It meant a lot to us. It is in actuality a dream come true," Michael said.