Source: Yahoo News
Watch out, South Toms River: There’s a new trooper in town.
Sophia Colavito, the South Toms River girl who is fighting cancer, received a special delivery from Col. Patrick Callahan, superintendent of the New Jersey State Police: her very own New Jersey State Police uniform.
Sophia, who turned 5 this past weekend, has developed a special relationship with police and other first responders as she battles optic glioma — a tumor on a nerve behind her eye discovered after months of searching for the cause of her severe headaches.
The police forces of South Toms River and Lavallette reached out to help the family, and a simple gift of their patches led to Sophia receiving hundreds of them from all over the world. The New Jersey State Police took notice as well.
“We made Sophia an honorary trooper a few months back,” Callahan said during a Gov. Phil Murphy coronavirus news conference. “When the folks at Blauer, who make our uniforms, heard about it, they asked for her sizes and made her a customized New Jersey State Police uniform.”
Lindsay Colavito, Sophia’s mother, who has been sharing Sophia’s journey on the Fight With Fi Facebook page, shared photos of the special birthday present delivery.
“Sophia had a very special start to her day!” she wrote. “Colonel Callahan and some of our State Trooper friends stopped by to wish Sophia a VERY Happy Birthday, and to present her with her very own State Trooper uniform!”
“She has the courage, perseverance and strength of a Jersey trooper,” Callahan said, then warned: “I would just caution the folks in South Toms River to be mindful of the posted speed limits, because she’s on the job!”
