6-Year-Old Honored By Chicago Police Last Week Dies From Rare Cancer
By Sarah Gouda in News on Apr 11, 2016 9:36PM
Days after interim Superintendent Eddie Johnson appointed her an honorary member of the Chicago Police Department, Madison Pruitt passed away from rhabdomyosarcoma, a cancer that targets muscle tissue. The six-year-old girl, a resident of Auburn Gresham, had been diagnosed with the rare disease last April.
Madison had always dreamed of being a police officer, her family told reporters. Once the Chicago Police Department got wind of that, they set up a ceremony during which she was awarded a badge, uniform, and medal of valor. The ceremony was originally supposed to take place at the Gresham District Department, but when Pruitt became too ill to attend, roughly 75 police officers arrived at her home to celebrate her.
The Sun-Times reports that Johnson told Madison, "You're a brave little girl and you are the reason why we do what we do, you're our hero." She replied that she wanted to be a police officer, "because you get to protect people."
After the moment was captured by Chicago reporters and television cameras, gifts started to pour in to the Gresham District Police Department. A class of fifth graders sent their condolences and people living in places as far away as Algonquin sent dolls and other toys.
Though Pruitt's cancer had gone into remission after rounds of chemotherapy and radiation, it reemerged around the holidays. Her grandmother, Pamlor Nelson, cared for her until the last moments. Members of the Gresham Police Department are now helping Nelson with funeral arrangements.
Nelson spoke lovingly of her granddaughter at the ceremony, according to the Sun-Times. “She’s a girly girl. She loves her nails done. She likes to get her hair done," she said. "She loves riding her bike and playing with her cousins."
Chicago police Sgt. Ernest Spradley, who delivered gifts to Madison on Saturday, took the news of her passing hard. "When a little 6-year-old girl says she wants to be police that kind of restores faith, even in our profession, because there are little boys and girls who want to grow up and who want to do what I do because it's a noble profession," Spradley told the Tribune.