Five-year-old Angel De Jesus Zamora, diagnosed in February with terminal brain cancer, on Tuesday will have his dream fulfilled of becoming a policeman.
New Castle County Police, in cooperation with the Make-A-Wish Foundation, invite the media to share the occasion Tuesday, Aug. 30, at Carousel Park & Equestrian Center in Pike Creek, also intended to help fundraising to cover his parents’ expenses, said Col. E.M. Setting, chief of police.
Media are asked to arrive and complete any necessary set up before 8:45 a.m. to avoid interfering with Angel’s experience.
He has an extremely rare childhood cancer, the type that claimed the life of the 3-year-old daughter of astronaut Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon.
“There’s no known cure for what Angel has,” County Executive Thomas P. Gordon said, “but we are honored to bring him some joy by proclaiming him an honorary policeman for the day.”
A police motorcade will escort Angel and his family – including his parents, Jose and Sandra Zamora, and his 11-year-old sister Anita -- from their home in Richardson Park near Newport, Setting said. At the park, Angel will meet police officers, mounted patrol horses and K-9 teams, as well as see police motorcycles, ATVs and the SWAT team van.
Make-A-Wish Foundation officials confirm his rare brainstem cancer – diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma – and say most children survive only months after diagnosis.
Donations are accepted at www.gofundme.com/26atefpv to aid Angel’s parents with medical bills, travel, food and normal costs that would be covered if not for his father’s missed work. “While we never give up hope for a miracle, we should not forget the miracle that we all have the power to create,” his mother said. “We can band together to fill whatever time Angel De Jesus may have left in this life with a tremendous outpouring of love for him and for his family.”