It is truly heartwarming when people come together in fun and laughter all for a cause. That is exactly what happened on Sept. 29 when the Pasco County Sheriff's department and the drama students of J.W. Mitchell High School and Hudson High School came together to give terminally ill 7-year-old Spencer Holt an experience he would never forget: saving the city from a zombie attack.
Spencer is a big fan of law enforcement and zombies, but since he was diagnosed with a mitochondrial disease and suffers from seizures, he has been spending most of his time in hospitals.
A mitochondrial disease is an incurable illness that causes a person's body to generate energy poorly. It eventually leads to cell death. There is still no way of knowing how long the boy can fight the disease.
For that reason, the Sheriff's department decided to cheer Spencer up by giving him a tour of the department and surprising him with a day of zombie slaying as the new deputy.
The day began with Spencer's arrival at the department after being invited by Sheriff Chris Nocco. Nocco had just presented Spencer with a little gift when their talk was suddenly interrupted by a panicked SWAT member who entered the room they were in to report a zombie outbreak in the old county jail.
From there, Spencer was deputized and given a nerf gun, along with the mission to help the SWAT team fight off the zombies. The high school drama students slowly rose from the dead, but Spencer made sure that the city was safe and the outbreak was contained.
Our #Thespians truly #Live4Others & fulfilled the wish of a boy w/ a terminal illness as guests at his Zombie Party! pic.twitter.com/Pxn6SG42BK
— J.W. Mitchell HS (@JWMHS) September 30, 2015
The Sheriff's department kept up the law enforcement and zombie theme until the end when six deputies performed Michael Jackson's "Thriller" after containing the outbreak. All the while, Spencer and his family applauded the performance. Spencer's mom, Cher Holt, beamed at seeing her son in high spirits afterwards.
"It was a perfect day for this little boy, and it really meant a lot to us," Nocco said.
Though Spencer didn't really talk much in front of the cameras, the huge smile he had throughout the day was enough for everyone involved to know that their preparations were worth it.
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