Milledgeville officers surprise sick McIntyre child at hospital
A sick 5-year-old McIntyre boy's recovery got a shot in the arm Monday morning from Milledgeville police officers.
Gage Aldrich had noticed a police officer go by his room at the Oconee Regional Medical Center. The boy, dealing with the flu, jumped off his bed.
He was a little nervous, since he'd never met a "superhero," his mom, Nikki Aldrich, said.
She tried to catch the officer and told the nurse her son was excited about getting a chance to meet an officer.
"I've got you covered," she told Aldrich.
Before they knew it, five Milledgeville police officers came to see the boy in the emergency room.
"Sunday nights, we're generally not that busy, so we had a couple more officers who could go over there," Maj. John Davis said.
Gage was so overjoyed, his mother couldn't stop giggling as the officers presented him with teddy bears, candy -- and his own badge.
"They just loved on him and were talking to him, and that was like him meeting Spiderman," she said.
Gage, whose temperature was nearing 104 degrees, went outside briefly to see the police cars.
"I have the flu. I'm 'affected' now, so don't touch me," he told the officers.
That didn't keep them away.
"Come here. You can cough into my back seat so the next guy I pick up will get sick," one of the officers joked with him.
Both mother and son were elated.
"It blessed my heart to see that interaction," Aldrich said.
Davis said the visit was not unusual for his officers.
"I think it's more common that people really know, going the extra mile to help folks out," he said.
Although Cody is still battling the flu, the experience has changed his life's plan.
"Nevermind," he told his mother after they got home from the hospital. "I'm not going to be Superman. I'm going to be a cop."
To contact writer Liz Fabian, call 744-4303 and follow her on Twitter@liz_lines.
This story was originally published February 22, 2016 at 2:31 PM with the headline "Milledgeville officers surprise sick McIntyre child at hospital ."