Ohio Two-Year-Old Cancer Patient Rides in Police Helicopter, Meets Paramedics
June 23--Shiann Lockhart is only 2, but she got a special view of the Columbus skyline Wednesday evening.
Along with her mother, Cora Lockhart, Shiann circled around the Downtown in a Columbus police helicopter, along with two police officers.
"At first, she wasn't sure," Mrs. Lockhart said. "She settled down and when we went over the water. She loved it."
It's all about making the days that Shiann has left count.
"She has been a medical mystery since she was born," said her father, Troy Lockhart, who stayed on the ground with their 5-year-old son, Noah.
Shiann was born with a defective heart that required a heart transplant when she was 5 weeks old. Then in March, doctors found that Shiann had contracted PTLD -- post-transplant lymphoproliferative disease. Found in about 2 percent of transplant patients, it's a series of diseases caused by the drugs that patients take to avoid organ rejection.
It can sometimes lead to cancer. In Shiann's case, it led to brain cancer. She's now on a feeding tube and in hospice.
But the Lockharts, who live in London in Madison County, decided to embrace the days she has left. They created a bucket list of activities, things that might occur in her life if it were longer. This Saturday, for example, they will have a "prom" for Shiann.
Franklin County Deputy Erica Russell learned that the helicopter ride was on the bucket list, so she contacted the Police Division. Sgt. Robert Sagle of the helicopter unit said Chief Kim Jacobs quickly gave her approval.
In addition to the helicopter ride, Shiann was greeted on Wednesday by three police horses, officers from the bicycle patrol, dogs from the sheriff's office K-9 unit and a Columbus firetruck and paramedic squad.
"We wanted to make it a special day for her," Sagle said as they all gathered at the Police Division's helipad in Franklinton.
After the ride, Cora Lockhart expressed her gratitude. "It's just a beautiful thing to see so many people come together to make her time so special."
Copyright 2016 - The Columbus Dispatch, Ohio
