Officers Line Up To Pay Respects As Cop's 11-Year-Old Son Dying of Brain Cancer Leaves for Hospice
On Wednesday, July 31, dozens of men and women in uniform met together at Albany Medical Center in New York to honor the son of one of their own.
After an aggressive battle with brain cancer, 11-year-old John Hoague-Rivette was leaving the hospital and transferring to hospice care. The event was a tragedy for his family and friends, but the young boy wanted only one thing as he prepared to say goodbye.
“John is passionate about law enforcement,” the Albany Police Department wrote on Twitter. “And we made sure he and his family know they’re not alone.”
Granting the little boy’s last wish, strangers and friends in uniform piled into the hospital’s halls, ready to give him a sendoff fit for a true hero. His parents, on what must have been one of the most difficult days of their lives, were reminded that they will never be asked to face their loss alone.
This afternoon, the APD & many from police agencies across the Capital Region met at @AlbanyMed to show their support for John Hoague-Rivette, an 11 y/o boy with brain cancer. John is passionate about law enforcement and we made sure he and his family know they’re not alone. ❤️ pic.twitter.com/sU1i8EosNA
— Albany Police (@albanypolice) July 31, 2019
John’s journey started earlier this year, when the fifth-grader began showing troubling symptoms.
Unable to walk, talk or eat normally and soon experiencing seizures, he was sent for a variety of tests and was later diagnosed with grade three Anaplastic Astrocytoma, a form of brain cancer in which a tumor forms on a person’s brain stem.
Although he went through weeks of treatment, it became clear that the radiation and chemotherapy weren’t working.
“The tumors are, in fact, growing. John’s medical team cannot believe how aggressive the tumors are and believe that further radiation will only increase inflammation and pain,” an admin wrote on John’s GoFundMe campaign page.
“There is no healing him,” the post stated. “We’re all devastated and heartbroken.”
Officer Lucas Hoague, John’s father, has served in various law enforcement roles over the course of his career, from a New York Police Officer to State Corrections Officer, and even an instructor at a Law Enforcement Academy, according to John Hoague-Rivette’s Facebook page.
After his son’s diagnosis, other officers leaped at the chance to pay their respects as John left for hospice. Joining together with the help of Make-A-Wish, the members of law enforcement made sure the little boy felt loved as he prepared to say goodbye.
“This afternoon, the APD & many from police agencies across the Capital Region met at @AlbanyMed to show their support for John Hoague-Rivette, an 11 y/o boy with brain cancer,” the department wrote on Twitter.
Photos of the day show the little boy surrounded by smiling men and women in uniform as the officers stood at his bedside and gathered in the hospital’s hallways. According to CBS, the boy’s mother, Carrie Rivette, was incredibly grateful for the show of love and support.
“There are not enough thank yous in the world I can give for seeing John smile today,” she said.
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