FBI Special Agent Michael Rees was so saddened by a newspaper article in April about a seriously ill boy that he sprang to action.
The Chicago Tribune reports that the boy, Sammy Nahorny, was undergoing a unique high-dose radiation therapy for neuroblastoma, a deadly pediatric cancer that required the Nebraska child to be alone in a hospital room for nearly a week because he was so radioactive.
“My wife insisted I read the story … it touched her because of the isolation, because our son had a short stay at Comer and because Sammy wanted to be in the FBI,” Rees said.
Sure enough, the FBI planned a day for the boy and his family at the training facility in North Chicago. They viewed an FBI helicopter and a SWAT team demonstration. They also explored a gun vault and dined on pizza.
By day’s end, Sammy received a special junior agent credentials.
“This touched a number of us,” Rees said, “and people fell all over themselves to help. We’re moms and dads, too … and this was something we could do, to share some of the blessings we have.”
