Police officer helps family after 'Grinch' steals Christmas decorations
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By FOX 10 News - Staff Report
Linzy
PHOENIX -
A valley police officer helped save Christmas for a 5-year-old girl suffering from a rare bone marrow disease.
Linzy Smith will likely spend most of the Christmas holiday in the hospital. To help lift her spirits, her mom decorated their yard early for the little girl to enjoy.
"I know she loves Christmas, she loves Santa, she loves looking at the lights - and that's the whole reason we wanted the lights up," says mom Jessica.
Jessica Smith woke up on Nov. 21 to find someone had stolen all of the Christmas decorations from the front of her home.
"And we put up the lights and a couple days later, literally ripped them out of the yard - the only things left were metal spikes and half of a net."
Smith doesn't think the "Grinch" knew about her daughter Linzy's condition.
After Officer Jacob Lewis heard about what happened, he wanted to do something for the family.
"I'm a father of soon to be five. I have 5 children, my wife is pregnant with number 5. My partner is also a father, so it kind of hit home for us," says Officer Lewis.
Lewis realized the financial burden Linzy's illness must have on her family. He decided to purchase $80 worth of groceries for the Smiths in hopes that the family could spend the freed up money redecorating.
Lewis and his partner also got in touch with the group "Angels on Patrol" to replace the decorations.
"To find out that it happened to have a very magical Christmas for a very special young girl is all that more impactful," says Leah Heathcoat, Angels on Patrol.
"This was a perfect opportunity of being able to give back to the community," says Officer Lewis.
"She has no idea that she's sick. She thinks the doctors, and all the visits and all the tests and things like that are just everyday life," says Smith. "She's a happy little girl. And that's what I want for her."
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Linzy
