Young boy lives his dream, becomes specialist cop
Special junior constable Christopher Lowe, who suffers a rare form of cancer, had his dream come true when he was inducted as an honorary police officer into some of the service’s most coveted squads.
QLD News
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Little Christopher Lowe had his dream come true on Wednesday, when he was promoted from “regular policing duties” to “special operations” by the Queensland Police Service, which granted the special junior constable access to areas only the most senior of police officers could dream of.
Christopher – one of just 25 people worldwide to be diagnosed with a neuroepithelial tumour with a BCOR alteration that affects his brain and spine – lived his dream when he was inducted as an honorary member to several specialist policing units
The nine-year-old officer had been inducted as a general-duties officer in his home town of Miles on the western Darling Downs last month, but on Wednesday morning he joined the QPS’ Dog Squad, Mounted Unit, Polair and arguably the most coveted role in the policing gig – and Christopher’s favourite – the Special Emergency Response Team (SERT).
“It means the world,” mother Injilay Lowe said.
“It’s nice to be away from reality, to just give him that sense of excitement and childhood that eventually he won’t have.
“When he’s on chemo and he’s tired, he’ll have this to remember and talk about.”
The young officer, who suffered his first seizure the day before his ninth birthday, has so far undergone 43 rounds of chemotherapy.
He spent Wednesday morning, however, riding horses as part of the Mounted Unit, inspecting the police helicopter with officers from PolAir and riding in SERT’s special Bearcat vehicle.
The young officer even named one of the newest police dogs for the QPS Dog Squad.
Christopher’s father Ian Lowe said joining the QPS has been Christopher’s dream since he was four.
It’s a dream the youngster has never given up on.
“Queensland police have just gone above and beyond and it’s amazing, it’s put a smile on his face, it’s just really good,” Mr Lowe said.
Christopher, who brought his three sisters Amelia, 7, Jacinta, 12, and Tiarna, 13, along for the day of surprises, said he would remember everything about his special day.
He said riding in SERT’s “big truck” had been his favourite activity, and inspecting “heaps of cool guns” was also at the top of the list.
Senior Constable Linette Swales, who drove with the family from Miles on the western Darling Downs, said the day was a dream come true for all the family.
“To be able to have a young boy experience these things is quite incredible, and to have those units on board to be able to do something is just amazing,” she said.
“It’s just amazing, it’s overwhelming … to make something happen is just making a dream come true for all of them.”
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