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Community comes together to raise money for Garland officers battling cancer
The Garland community is rallying behind two police officers who are fighting cancer by giving back to the people that serve them every day.
GARLAND, Texas - The Garland community is rallying behind two police officers who are fighting cancer by giving back to the people that serve them every day.
A special fundraiser was held Saturday.
"Ever since I told people about my diagnosis, immediate love and affection came," Garland PD Officer Brandyce Johnson said.
Johnson is battling breast cancer.
She is one of two within the department to recently receive a devastating diagnosis.
Officer Jordan Cruz has leukemia, but they aren't alone in the fight.
"I just wanted to help. My heart just knew that this is what I wanted to do," said Tammy Hauck-Norvell, owner of Main Street Café.
Hauck-Norvell wanted to use her platform to unite the community in a show of support.
On Saturday, a fundraiser was held, with a portion of the proceeds going to Johnson and Cruz.
People were there as soon as the doors opened.
"Every day, they put their life on the line,” one customer said. “Their families got to be anxious, especially when you hear of a shooting or something like that. Even in a small town like Garland, it still happens, and so you get, you get to appreciate [that] they do a lot.”
Officer Johnson has been with Garland PD for 20 years. She is currently assigned to the school resource officer unit.
She is going through chemo and will soon have a double mastectomy, but that's not keeping her from doing what she loves.
"Even though I’m not at full capability sometimes, because I’m tired, the thing that motivates me to want to keep working is being at the school with the students and my staff,” Johnson said. “That part feels normal to me. I don’t want this diagnosis to make me feel like I have to give that part of me up."
She said the Garland Police Department is a family, and that shows.
As part of the fundraiser, some officers took time to serve in a different capacity.
It's those kinds of moments that inspire hope.
"I'll tear up because I’m just ecstatic about the support that I have and it makes me happy and feel really at piece with the diagnosis and encourages me on the days that I’m tired, to get up and push forward," Johnson said.
Be The Match was also there conducting swab tests.
Thousands of patients with blood cancers, like leukemia, depend on the registry to find a match to save their life by donating bone marrow or blood stem cells.