Police departments rally to wish woman battling cancer a happy birthday
PORTSMOUTH, R.I. (WJAR) — Police departments all over Rhode Island and as far away as Missouri are rallying behind a Portsmouth woman battling cancer for the fourth time.
In 2019, now 21-year-old Carrigan Nelson was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a rare bone cancer. Having relapsed three times, she went to the doctor a few weeks ago for some follow-up scans.
Unfortunately, the above the knee leg amputee found out her cancer had progressed.
Currently, she has a tumor that's pressing against her heart.
Nelson, who has a strong following on social media and is an advocate for other kids battling cancer posted the news to her Facebook page, stating in part:
"Surgery may not be an option. Radiation may not be an option. My medical team is weighing out my options and conferring with others to develop an aggressive treatment plan. My 22nd birthday is Feb 8. I've been told to move up my celebration because there isn't time to wait. I've been through so much pain and heartache these last four years and I have fought like heck but I'm feeling very defeated."
South Kingstown police officer Jennifer Fonseca, met Carrigan in 2019.
A few years ago, Fonseca started The Hero Package Foundation that sends care packages to children battling cancer.
Carrigan was a recipient.
“I’ve been following them since the beginning of her journey," said Fonseca. “This is her fourth go at it, this time around. She is an inspiration to others. As soon as she was diagnosed in 2019 she started a whole thing with childhood cancer and really wanting to be there for other kids who are going through the same thing that she is. She formed a support group and made a social media page, raised over $40K for childhood cancer, and has received multiple awards."
Fonseca said recently when she came across Carrigan's most recent post, it hurt her heart.
“When I found out it was going to be her birthday I wanted to do something special for her," she said.
Fonseca created a flier, and then reached out to almost every local department she could think of asking for their help.
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“Because of my foundation I know a lot of police departments in Rhode Island so I made a flier, basically reached out to all my contacts asked them to reach out to their contacts, and the goal was to get as many signs up in Rhode Island for Carrigan at every police department wishing her a happy birthday, just letting her know we’re on her side, and thinking about her."
In less than a week, support came in by the dozens.
Fonseca was flooded with pictures of officers posing with birthday signs and banners that have been posted all over social media.
Many of the departments have used their traffic message board to show support for #TeamCarrigan.
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“I started it out with the intent for a small project to make a small difference in her life and it’s just amazing so many people have picked up on this," she said. “It’s gone past Rhode Island. We’ve had Massachusetts reach out, and even Missouri."
Like the many other police departments, the Portsmouth Police Department wanted to show support.
Nelson is a Portsmouth resident and Sergeant Maddie Pirri was her school resource officer.
“She was one of the students that really stood out for me. She was a very well-rounded, caring individual. She always had a way of making other students and her peers just everyone in the school feel welcomed. She always walked around the halls with a smile on her face and I think that’s because she had a lot to be proud of," Pirri said.
Pirrri said when she received the flier from Fonseca, she took action.
“I’m heartbroken. Heartbroken. I always say Carrigan is someone I admire because she makes the impossible seem possible," she said. "We want to help any way we can. We put a message board out wishing her a happy birthday and it says #TeamCarrigan. We also had a banner printed and we hung it in our lobby window so individuals coming into the station could see it."
According to Fonseca, Carrigan and her family knew that she was up to something but most likely didn't realize the extent of it.
On Monday, Fonseca surprised Carrigan with a birthday book that consisted of all the pictures of the local departments wishing her a happy birthday.
“I just think she’s an amazing person and she deserves this," she said. “She’s not going to be able to go out for her birthday. She’ll probably be home, or going through treatment, so I think seeing all these police departments routing for her I just think it’s going to bring her a lot of happiness that I don’t think the average person would get on their 22nd birthday.”
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“Her willingness to fight and keep moving forward and her perseverance is something I truly admire," said Pirri. “I really think it’s important for her to feel supported and to feel like we're standing with her. We want her to know she’s not fighting alone, we're with her in anything she needs, we're here to help her out.”
Carrigan's mom, Tammy, posted on Facebook thanking Fonseca and the many police departments who've offered their support.
She wrote in a Facebook post, "The signs and well wishes have brought she and our family so much joy and have provided a much needed diversion from being back in the clinical setting fighting cancer again. Thanks for keeping in touch and staying apprised of Carrigan's emergent medical situation. We are truly grateful."