ROCK SPRINGS – Mikey Thorpe will get his wish to be Police Officer. The Rock Springs Police Department announced that on Sept 17 he will be sworn in and get to ride along with the Rock Springs Police Department officers.

Mikey who has been fighting leukemia since May of 2009 will participate in several events that have been scheduled in his honor and the public is invited to attend his swearing in ceremony at 9:30 a.m. on Sept. 17 in the Rock Springs City Council Chambers. Organizers ask that the public arrive at 9:15 a.m. to take part in the ceremony.

Commander Dwane Pacheco of the Rock Springs Police Department said, “Rock Springs Police Officer Amanda Clawson is a friend of the Thorpe family who currently live in Evanston, WY. Mikey’s mother Tessa grew up in Rock Springs. Mikey wished to have a ride-a-long with a police officer. We are granting his wish by making him an honorary Rock Springs Police Officer for the day.”

Below is a post written about Mikey by his mother on his Facebook, “Thoughts and prayers for Mikey Thorpe.”

Mikey & Leukemia (The 4 yr fight)

July 16, 2013 at 5:40pm

“My son Mikey was diagnosed with leukemia in may 2009. because of this, our lives changed so much that most people don’t even understand unless they have also experienced cancer or taken care of someone with cancer. In the beginning I had so many mixed emotions, questions, that I can’t even describe.

It only took one month after diagnosis for Mikey to go into remission and even though he is remission, he still must receive the chemo treatments at Primary Children’s & numerous medications at home. we take each day as it comes because every day can be different. For a lot of people, they see Mikey as a picture of perfect health, which Mikey has been very fortunate to handle the treatments & other meds as well as he has.

But there has been other days when that has changed so quickly. One minute he can be having the time of his life, but within that same hour or less he can be wrapped in a blanket in 80 degree or higher weather shivering with cold chills and/or vomiting the next from the medications. When I say his blood counts are borderline, that usually means his immune system is compromised and very easy to pick up any communicable disease.

If it goes below borderline, that means we pretty much need to stay at home to protect him from getting sick, because the way a simple cold/flu affects others, could make Mikey so much sicker even lead to hospitalization. When he gets a fever, its treated so much differently than someone without cancer.

His energy levels vary on a daily basis, one day he can run all day long, then there are some where he can sleep 12 hours+. But as i said previously, Mikey has been very fortunate, strong, brave, & able to live life to the fullest. In closing, I wrote this so that more people can become aware of how cancer & chemo can affect a person’s life & understand terms used.

Update. Mikey completed 3 yrs of chemo after being diagnosed in May 2009. In Aug 2012 we celebrated that we were done with chemo & he had his port a cath taken out. A month later he began showing signs & symptoms of leukemia once again, horrible hip & leg pain almost so bad that he could barely walk. Contacted Doctors, blood tests were ran & once again, unbearable news, Mikey had relapsed. Mid Oct 2012, port a cath put back into place & would start chemo once again. About 3 months of chemo went by and Doctor recommended a bone marrow transplant cause Mikey wasn’t responding to the chemo as quick as dr wanted him to. This 2nd diagnosis of leukemia would be more intense then the first diagnosis, before the bone marrow transplant, Mikey would be admitted to PICU due to a collapsed lung, which was quickly resolved with a chest tube. Also during an echo test a blood clot in his heart was also found. Doctors continue to monitor it which it looks as if it will continue to remain stable & his heart will build a kind of shield around it, like its just naturally part of him. Late March 2013 started prepping for transplant with high dose chemo & radiation.

April 2 he received his bone marrow from an anonymous male donor. we would spend almost 4 weeks in the hospital, getting released on april 26. we would have to remain in the salt lake area for another 2 & 1/2 months, getting released to go back home to Evanston on July 11th. Unfortunately after all this there is still a small percentage of leukemia cells still present in Mikey’s bone marrow. Doctors hope once he is weaned from one of his meds that his immune system will go into full force and kill the remaining leukemic cells. Until then its gonna be one day at a time with continued weekly appointments.

On Aug 1st he had another biopsy that showed his leukemia cells were progressing and with such aggression it was deemed that his leukemia is now terminal. He will be given some medications at home and only traveling to the hospital for blood & platelet transfusions when needed.”