California Highway Patrol Dispatcher in Need of Cancer Support
Attached is a request from the California Highway Patrol’s
Orange County Commmunications Center. Thank you for considering our
request.
Mike Ritchie is a 42 year old Public Safety Dispatch Supervisor
I with the California Highway Patrol. Formerly an officer and
dispatcher with El Cajon Police Department, Mike joined the CHP in 2007.
In July 2012, Mike experienced abdominal pain and had several tests
performed. He was diagnosed with Stage 4 colon cancer, which had
metastasized to his liver. He has been off work since his diagnosis.
Although Mike has been given a terminal diagnosis, he is determined to
fight the cancer through aggressive chemotherapy and a healthy diet.
His wife Christine and their son Kaleb are his motivations to continue
his fight. Kaleb, a leukemia survivor, already suffered the loss of his
birth father years earlier, and Mike is determined to do everything
within his power to fulfill his role as father and husband. Mike has
exhausted his leave credits and they are getting by on Christine’s
salary with the school district. Although she hasn’t been at that job
for very long, her supervisors and peers have been supportive in her
need for time off.
What is most striking about Mike’s response to his illness is
his positive attitude. Mike refuses to feel sorry for himself and
repeatedly expresses gratitude for the support shown by his family,
friends, and the CHP. His coworkers have organized a raffle and bake
sale to benefit his family, and hope to present his family with a gift
card to help with Christmas expenses.
If
you would like to help this CHP dispatcher, please let me know and it
might be pretty awesome if you could make a matching blanket/quilt for
his son who has already endured so much!
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