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“Something told me, 'You know what? I'm gonna help these guys.'"
Cancer-stricken man from Wisconsin got to cross an item off his bucket list thanks to newly promoted NYPD captainA dying Wisconsin man and his wife came to Times Square last New Year's Eve in hopes of scratching off a bucket list item: watch the ball drop at the stroke of midnight.
Roger Higgenbottom was 48 when he went to the doctor for a routine physical. But the results were not routine. He had prostate cancer.
The cancer spread into his spine, hobbling a man known for his vitality who married his best friend in 2010 — but then remarried her six more times after he got the diagnosis just because he could.
In December 2014, the two decided to fly to New York to do one more thing while he still could.
...The trip, however, seemed doomed. They arrived at their hotel on the morning of New Year's Eve, as Roger's medication robbed him of his strength.
...Just minutes before midnight, the couple roused themselves, put on their coats and "Happy New Year" hats and labored out into the crowds near the 42nd St. subway station to stake out a spot.
Then another hitch: The pedestrian plaza was already so packed that the two couldn't see the show. Sadness and panic set in.
That's when Diana turned around to pray for guidance and started pacing. She walked about five feet and came face to face with then-NYPD Lt. Jamiel Altaheri, a transit district cop.
“I wasn't even supposed to be up there. I was in transit so I'm supposed to down below but I went up for a break to get coffee," recounted Altaheri, 32. "I saw them and I felt like they were distraught, crying, so I took the initiative and asked, 'Is everything OK?'"
Diana broke down in tears as she told Altaheri about their mission. Without pause, Altaheri reached out to Roger and helped him navigate through the massive crowd.
“Something told me, 'You know what? I'm gonna help these guys,'" Altaheri said.
Read more at http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/new-nypd-captain-helped-cancer-stricken-man-bucket-list-article-1.2421387
Roger Higgenbottom was 48 when he went to the doctor for a routine physical. But the results were not routine. He had prostate cancer.
The cancer spread into his spine, hobbling a man known for his vitality who married his best friend in 2010 — but then remarried her six more times after he got the diagnosis just because he could.
In December 2014, the two decided to fly to New York to do one more thing while he still could.
...The trip, however, seemed doomed. They arrived at their hotel on the morning of New Year's Eve, as Roger's medication robbed him of his strength.
...Just minutes before midnight, the couple roused themselves, put on their coats and "Happy New Year" hats and labored out into the crowds near the 42nd St. subway station to stake out a spot.
Then another hitch: The pedestrian plaza was already so packed that the two couldn't see the show. Sadness and panic set in.
That's when Diana turned around to pray for guidance and started pacing. She walked about five feet and came face to face with then-NYPD Lt. Jamiel Altaheri, a transit district cop.
“I wasn't even supposed to be up there. I was in transit so I'm supposed to down below but I went up for a break to get coffee," recounted Altaheri, 32. "I saw them and I felt like they were distraught, crying, so I took the initiative and asked, 'Is everything OK?'"
Diana broke down in tears as she told Altaheri about their mission. Without pause, Altaheri reached out to Roger and helped him navigate through the massive crowd.
“Something told me, 'You know what? I'm gonna help these guys,'" Altaheri said.
Read more at http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/new-nypd-captain-helped-cancer-stricken-man-bucket-list-article-1.2421387
