Terminally Ill Girl Fulfills 'Lifelong Dream' as Chicago Police Award Her Medal of Valor
Madison Pruitt, 6, was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer.
— -- A Chicago girl was honored by the Chicago Police Department for her bravery in facing a terminal disease and even given her own Medal of Valor by an officer.
Madison Pruitt, 6, is currently in hospice care due to cancer, according to a spokeswoman at the JourneyCare hospice service center that is assisting with her treatment. The girl was honored on Wednesday by the Chicago Police Department, which arrived with 75 officers and gave the girl her own uniform and police badge.
"A caseworker gave us a call and said, 'Do you mind coming over and speaking to her? ... She wants to be a Chicago police officer. It's her lifelong dream,'" Sgt. Ernest Spradley of the Chicago Police Department told ABC's Chicago station WLS-TV. "I said, 'Oh, no, no, no. We'll do a little something better than that.'"
Madison has a rare cancer called rhabdomyosarcoma that attacks muscle tissue. The girl was too sick to go to the police station, but dozens of officers arrived at her door to bring her cheer. One officer even donated his Medal of Valor so that it could be awarded to Madison for her "bravery" in facing her disease, according to a post on the Chicago Police Department's Facebook page on Thursday.
"This is for you, because you're a brave little girl and you are the reason we do what we do. You're our hero," Chicago Police Dept. Interim Supt. Eddie Johnson told Madison during his visit to the hospice center.
Officers took roll call, arrived on horseback and saluted the girl who waved from her wheelchair.
"If she doesn't make you feel good about life, then nothing else will," Johnson said after he presented Madison with a medal of valor, which was donated by a lieutenant on the force. "Despite the fact that she's going through what she's going through, she was able to muster up a smile."
Madison's family members, including her grandmother, were there to see the girl smile and wave at the dozens of officers, who had come out to honor her and who also prayed with her.
"I'm just so overjoyed for all this love for my baby. You don't know," Madison's grandmother, Pamlor Nelson, told WLS-TV.
The family declined through JourneyCare to give further comment to ABC News as Madison's condition continues to deteriorate.
