Teenager gets a special Christmas surprise from a traffic cop

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Friday, December 26, 2014
(Saukville Police Department)
creativeContent-Saukville Police Department

SAUKVILLE, Wis. -- 17-year-old Audra Daniloff, who spent most of 2014 in the hospital due to a life-threatening condition, was stunned when she was pulled over and given two tickets by a police officer. But not the tickets she was expecting. Take a look.

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Audra's father, Marc Daniloff, had coordinated with Saukville Police Department Chief Jeff Goetz and Officer Brandon Depies to deliver Audra her Christmas gifts as she drove to school in November this year. Her father wanted this Christmas to be special after Audra had nearly lost her life to a rare disorder, Hemophagocytic Lymphohistiocytosis (HLH), a condition in which the immune system attacks normal, healthy cells of the body.

"I got some good news and some bad news for you, okay?," the police officer in the video told Audra, as she held back tears.

"The bad news, first I am giving you two tickets, alright? The good news is they're probably not the tickets you expect me to give you. One is a plane ticket to New York. The other is a concert ticket to a band called Timeflies," said the police officer, handing Audra the tickets.

The distraught look on Audra's face quickly becomes one of utter confusion, stunned and speechless as the officer explains that they're gifts from her dad. According to Marc, Timeflies is Audra's favorite band.

"You're my favorite cop in the entire world!," Audra squealed in excitement, tears rolling down her face.

Audra had spent most of the year in and out of the Children's Hospital of Wisconsin battling HLH, being told she had about a 20 percent chance of survival. After his daughter had endured so much this year, he wanted to make sure his daughter got to have a fun trip and see her favorite band for Christmas.

Timeflies band members, Rob Resnick and Cal Shapiro, pose with Audra at the concert.

Police Chief Goetz was happy to participate in the surprise, saying it meant a lot to the police department as well.

"I would argue the fact - that we're wasting our resources. I think that's exactly what our resources should be used for," said Goetz.