MA officers head to VA to surprise boy with cancer

WELLESLEY, Mass. (WHDH) -- Dozens of Massachusetts officers began their trip to Virginia on Wednesday to grant a little boy’s wish.

Nathan Norman, 5, is battling a rare form of cancer. All he wanted for Christmas was cards from his heroes, so a group of Massachusetts police officers, firefighters and first responders got together to deliver the boy’s present.

Nathan said the holiday cheer from the cards might help him feel better.

“It touches anyone who is a parent. I have two kids. You just feel for a family who is going through something like that,” said Lt. Chris Munger of the Watertown Police Department.

Nathan is battling a rare form of brain and spine cancer. He lives in Virginia, but his wish resonated with hundreds of police officers in New England.

In Burlington, officers started circulating a card, but then they decided to take it one step further.

“Our honor guard got together and we thought it would be a good idea to personally hand deliver the cards to Nathan and his family,” said an officer from Burlington.

The officers didn’t have to look far to find others just as eager to make the boy’s wish come true.

“To have someone going through that tragedy just reach out and say, ‘Hey, I’d just like some Christmas cards.’ And when the Burlington officers put out this -- instead of just mailing them or sending them down in a package, let’s hand deliver them. And then it just took off from there,” said Munger.

Early Wednesday morning about 250 law enforcement officers in 100 cruisers from 80 different agencies start the 12-hour trip to Virginia. They are bringing cards, pins and t-shirts -- not just for Nathan, but for his brothers and sisters as well.

The officials are on their way and Nathan has no idea his heroes are coming to wish him a Merry Christmas.

“To actually sit down and just see the smile on his face when all the cruisers show up with lights, it’s going to be pretty special,” said Munger.

Welleseley police are one of the many departments taking part. They are streaming the trip live on their website. On Thursday, viewers can watch them meet Nathan for the first time. The Burlington Police Department is also tweeting their adventure. Read their tweets here. They are using the hashtag #Cards4Nathan.

Watch the stream here:

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