Maddie Carlson was shocked when the kind-hearted cops in Goffstown, New Hampshire presented her with a check for $250 - rather than a ticket.
When New Hampshire cops pulled over a 16-year-old girl and her mom, the teen thought they were in serious trouble.
But rather than issue them a ticket, the kind-hearted cops were actually there to present the girl, Maddie Carlson, with a check for $250 for her cancer treatment.
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A video of the encounter was shared on the Goffstown Police Facebook page, where it has been viewed 100,000 times.
Maddie, who is battling a rare type of bone cancer, had no idea that her mom Kathy had teamed up with the officers to give her a special surprise.
Speaking to INSIDE EDITION, Kathy said that the plan came about after a police lieutenant told her one of his officers had collected the donations for Maddie.
Mrs. Carlson thought it would be funny for the officers to pull over Maddie’s car to give her the check – and the lieutenant agreed. But when they tried to enact their plan, Maddie was too weak to drive, so her mother was behind the wheel instead and pretended they were heading out to lunch.
After the officers pulled her over, they accused Mrs. Carlson of driving erratically and of being distracted by the family dog. Maddie jumped to her defense.
“She was shocked and scared,” her mother said, laughing. “She’s a rule follower.”
But then Maddie caught sight of Lieutenant Pierre Pouliot behind the camera. He’s a friend of the family so the teenager knew something was up.
“Oh man! It’s a prank!” she said, her mom told IE. “She had been so scared!”
When the officers showed her the check, Maddie “had overwhelming joy,” her mother said.
“It was so meaningful to her,” Kathy said. “This is emotionally really difficult for her so this was a pick-me-up that melted our hearts. To see her smile – that doesn’t happen often for us right now.”
The mom and daughter are pictured together in an image by Elizabeth Kelly.
Maddie was diagnosed with Ewing sarcoma in May after she started feeling excruciating pain in one of her arms.
“We were all in denial,” her mother said. “It was about a month before we really believed it.”
Rather than go through radiation at first, Maddie underwent an experimental treatment – but she recently found it failed to get rid of her cancer. Her tumor has actually grown, her mom said.
The teenager, who has two younger sisters, is now undergoing chemo and radiation, and has only been able to attend school for three days since her diagnosis.
But community members – including the police officers – have rallied around the family to keep their spirits up, her mom said.
“That love and support helps her maintain hope,” her mom said. “It means so much to us.”
You can visit a fundraising page for Maddie here.
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