Police and firefighters in Central Illinois came together to brighten a bullied boy's birthday.
The first responders went way above and beyond the call of duty to celebrate with a very special little boy.
Braden Garnett's world is often a lonely one.
Diagnosed with Aspberger's, dyslexia and a condition that causes misalignment of his eyes, other kids can be cruel.
"At school, I struggle because people are calling me names. I'm bullied, constantly,” he said.
Braden's 11th birthday was coming up.
His mother hoped this year would be different and invited 36 kids.
"As of 2 days before, only 3 were going to be there,” Carrie Garnett said.
That's happened every birthday since he was five.
This year was different.
"I sent an email to Det Eeten, Pekin Police,” said Garnett.
What about this email caught the police’s attention?
"I thought, if that was my child and they wanted to have some kids show up and nobody showed up, what would I say to them?S o I thought, we can do this,” Det. Mike Eeten with Pekin Police Department.
Detective Eeten spread the word to the beat cops like officer James Guerra.
"They were talking about this special kid Braden. How neat it'd be if we can go and surprise him at his birthday party,” said Officer James Guerra with the Pekin Police Department.
The cops the called the fire chief.
More than a dozen Pekin Police officers and firefighters played paintball with Braden for his birthday… they brought their kids and pooled their money for presents and for just one day.
Braden forgot his daily challenges.
And so did these officers.
The day after the party, Braden went to the station to thank the officers for making his birthday so special.
What’s next for Braden?
He’s not yet planned his next party because he's too busy getting ready for his career as a police officer or firefighter.
