A 9-year-old N.J. boy battling cancer has died just days after police and first responders threw him a hero-themed parade, police said.
By: Tom Davis (Patch Staff)
A 9-year-old N.J. boy battling cancer has died just days after police and first responders threw him a surprise hero-themed parade, police said.
Parth Patel, who was diagnosed in 2014 with Ewing Sarcoma, spent his final days surrounded by family and friends thanks to the Marty Lyons Foundation, which fulfills the wishes of terminally ill children between the ages of 3 and 17 years old, according to NBC4 New York.
Patel, a fourth-grader who hadn’t been able to attend full days of school because of his illness, according to nj.com. Police Officer Adrien Murrell had heard about Parth’s battle, and having lost her brother to a terminal illness, wanted to do something special for the 9-year-old.
More than 100 police officers, firefighters, and EMTs held the parade from Parth’s Nelson Avenue home down North Street to School 27 in Jersey City, according to the report. The Marty Lyons Foundation held a pizza party in the school’s auditorium after the parade, and Parth was presented a key to Jersey City by Mayor Steve Fulop.
Parth wore a custom-made replica uniform he received from the Jersey City police department, according to NBC4. EMTs dressed in colorful superhero costumes and masks, while men in plaid kilts and navy berets marched through the streets playing bagpipes in his honor.
Parthinsisted on attending school for an hour each day “He always wanted to help people, he loved helping,” his sister, Hileri Patel, told NBC4. “He knew how he was struggling, he didn’t want to see others struggling.”
