It’s always tough to see a little one, with a whole life ahead of him, face a scary illness.
If you’ve known anyone with a chronic or terminal illness, you know just how powerless and useless you can feel.
When it’s a young person facing a challenge that you can’t possibly understand, it’s even harder. Sure, you’re right there beside them, as we saw with incredible little Libby, who cut off her hair for her best friend. Still, these are the kinds of challenges we ultimately must come through alone.
Fortunately for one little boy dealing with a long haul of medical procedures at Boston Children’s Hospital, the friends by his side are very stalwart and uplifting companions indeed: the officers of the Boston Police Department and his local sheriff’s department back home in Florida.
Scroll through the gallery below to see how the police, the sheriff’s department, and the hospital worked together to give Owen one amazing day!
Thumbnail Photo Credit: BPD News
The little boy in question is 6-year-old Owen, who has been in the hospital for more than two months receiving treatment and surgery for a congenital condition.
He has been very brave throughout his 18 surgeries and months of treatment, but even brave guys like him need a little help from their friends now and then.
He had one awesome visit with the Boston Red Sox mascot Wally, but he had no idea that Boston — and his hometown in Florida — had another surprise in store!
Owen had been traveling back and forth from Florida to Massachusetts for four years to receive treatment from the world-class staff at Boston Children's Hospital.
In that time, he became a little boy with a passionate interest in the police, and special affinity for the officers in his hometown and his adopted city.
The officers back in Polk Country, FL, decided to oblige his interest by sending Owen a special care package, including a badge, some T-shirts, and plenty of coloring books and other fun activities to entertain him in the hospital.
The Boston Police, meanwhile, weren't about to sit around and get left out of the fun!
When they heard what their colleagues down south were planning, the BPD helped out by hand-delivering the care package, and adding one more gift.
They decided that Owen, who is already so grown up for his age, should be appointed Boston's new Chief of Police for the day!
He got to hang out with Sergeant Samil Silta from Boston's Roxbury neighborhood, who was on hand to help the new police chief show off his leadership skills!
The first matter on Owen's agenda was very important indeed.
He declared that the police would be giving free ice cream to all of the patients at Boston Children's Hospital, and Sergeant Silta backed up his offer and brought J.P. Licks ice cream to all of Owen's fellow patients.
Owen, meanwhile, enjoyed his own cup of ice cream while carrying out his municipal duties and hanging out with Sergeant Silta.
The officers of the BPD also note that he was a very gracious Chief of Police.
According to the post on the BPD Facebook page, he "gave a special thanks to all the staff of Children's Hospital and the Polk County Sheriffs as he ate his ice cream from the front seat of his police car."
Though Owen's tenure as Chief of Police eventually came to an end, it's pretty clear that he had an amazing experience.
He announced his retirement by giving Sergeant Silta a big hug that showed the whole world just how much he loved his time in the force.
We have no doubt at all that we'll see him back in a badge again one day, once he's just a little bit bigger!
If you loved this adorable gesture for a brave little boy, make sure to check out the moment that Owen was first surprised with the big news in the video below. Don't forget to SHARE this touching scene with friends and family!
