6-year-old girl with cancer sworn in as honorary police officer in Texas
FREEPORT, Texas -- Abigail Arias is 6 years old and fighting a lung cancer battle once again.
"I have cancer. The bad guys are in my lungs," she said. "I rung the bell, but now this cancer is coming back."
Wilms tumor, a rare kidney cancer in children, is back with a vengeance and this time doctors are telling the family there's no cure.
"They basically said it's time to enjoy some life," said her mom, Ilene Arias. "Extremely tough. We cried for a few weeks."
Abigail, as strong as she is, whispered in her mother's ear not to worry. This time, she said, the bad guys would not win.
"To go through this and to realize that there is nothing you can do for your kid, as a parent, it was tough. It was very tough on us," Abigail's dad, Ruben Arias, said.
This past December, the Arias family met Freeport Police Chief Ray Garivey and they bonded.
Abigail told him that when she grows up, she wants to be a police officer.
"They are a lot stronger than I am," the chief said, in tears.
Wanting to fulfill her wish, he reached out to an organization in Pearland called Cop Stop and asked for a custom Freeport police uniform made especially for Abigail. She tried it on Tuesday for the first time.
Abigail was sworn in on Feb. 7, surrounded by loved ones and officers from several different agencies around Texas.
"Her spirit, her toughness, her will to survive, that's what (we believe in)," Garivey said.
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