The youngest officer with the Baldwinsville Police Department just celebrated a big milestone and her fellow officers were there to celebrate with her, even if from six feet apart.

4-year-old Rosie Snowdon is valiantly fighting cancer for the second time. She was first diagnosed in July 2018 with rhabdomyosarcoma, a rare form of cancer that most often affects children in their soft tissue, but after beating it in just ten months, Rosie's cancer came back in September. She has been undergoing chemotherapy at Golisano Children's Hospital in Syracuse for the past 217 days, and yesterday, she got to ring the bell to celebrate her last inpatient chemo treatment.

Although COVID-19 restrictions prevented the community from taking part in her celebration, family, friends and the Baldwinsville Police Department came together to welcome Rosie back home with a parade in her honor. This video on the department's Facebook page shows a long line of cars driving past Rosie's home, honking and cheering, many with signs of encouragement. The video ends as Rosie says, "so cool!"

Her mom, Arianna Leonard, organized the event and said that Rosie is moving into her last phase of treatment, maintenance chemo.

"This will be all outpatient and home treatments and such low doses that her hair will grow back, she’ll have energy, and overall she’ll have a fraction of 'normal' life back," Leonard posted in the Facebook event. "We are so proud of how hard she has fought!"

Courtesy of Arianna Leonard
Courtesy of Arianna Leonard
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Courtesy of Arianna Leonard
Courtesy of Arianna Leonard
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Leonard also went live on Facebook as Rosie rang the bell, praising the nurses at Golisano's Children for their support throughout Rosie's battle.

"You all have made it so unbelievably comfortable and safe," Leonard said in the video. "It's an obvious fact that we wouldn't be here without all of you, but you've helped us in more ways than mental. During a time of crisis, everyone is praising medical professionals for their bravery, but as a parent of a child with cancer, I'm always doing that. Every one of you has faced hardship and loss in this profession and you continue pushing on because we needed you to. You have been strong when we couldn't and fought for not only Ro, but for many kids before and after her."

Tuesday's parade is far from the first time the Baldwinsville Police Department has supported Rosie and cheered her on throughout her fight with cancer. She became an officer with the department (and even got her own police car) in November, and Officers Natoli and Quattrini took her on a fun-filled day at Destiny USA in December. Members of the department even stopped by the hospital on Rosie's birthday in February to sing to her.

READ MORE: Inspiring Stories From the Coronavirus Pandemic

 

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