MIAMI police officer Ryan Michel could not simply turn a blind eye when he saw a Bahamian woman sitting at a bus stop on 59th Street last Tuesday.
He had seen her at the same spot after driving by several times while on duty. Then at 5:00am he noticed that she had a baby on her lap.
So he stopped to investigate-like what all good cops would have done. It turns out that this woman’s baby, 2-year-old Joshua, was the reason why she and her other two kids had traveled to Florida from Nassau.
Baby Joshua suffers from hypospadias, a genital birth defect that affects the opening of the urethra and was in need of surgery. This Bahamian mother had saved approximately $3,500 to bring Joshua to Southwest Miami-Dade for surgery.
Joshua’s mom had been sitting at the bus stop for hours because had misplaced the money she brought to Florida and couldn’t afford to stay at the Seven Seas Motel where she had initial checked into.
Realizing her situation, Officer Michel offered to put them up for a night at the motel while he looked for a shelter. But that wasn’t the end, Officer Michel paid out of his own pocket. $500, enough for Joshua and his loved ones to have a roof over their heads through the weekend.
When asked why did he help this Bahamian mother, Officer Michel said
“I grew up on the same streets that I patrol in, so I know what it’s like to have friends that have nothing and to have nothing,”
Michel enlisted the help of the community, and his sergeant has set up a GoFundMe page for the family.
If you would like to make a donation, go to www.gofundme.com/edgecombe.
So far they have raised over $11,000.
Story courtesy of WSVN-TV. Visit this link more details.
