South Toms River Girls Police Patch Request Gets Worldwide Reply – Toms River, NJ Patch

SOUTH TOMS RIVER, NJ — There are patches from Topeka, Kansas, and Salem, Massachusetts. From Chicago and Los Angeles and Minneapolis and Orlando. And of course from towns all over New Jersey.

There’s even patches sent by NASA and some from the International Space Station.

In a matter of weeks, Sophia Colavito’s collection of police and first responder patches has grown exponentially thanks to the efforts of local police to get the word out about the 4-year-old from South Toms River who is fighting cancer.

“It’s turned into this huge, amazing thing,” said Lindsay Colavito, Sophia’s mother, who has been sharing Sophia’s journey on the Fight With Fi Facebook page. “We are so grateful.”

Sophia is your typical 4-year-old. She loves to ride her bicycle and play outside, and she adores everything related to the movie “Frozen.” She was taking dance lessons and was just about to start taking mixed martial arts lessons as well.

But what started as headaches in the summer of 2019 that would come on every time Sophia had a fever turned out to be optic glioma — a tumor on Sophia’s optic nerve. Sophia was diagnosed with the tumor behind her eye in late February, after headaches intensified during a bout with the flu.

“She got headaches again with the fever,” Lindsay said. This time, “the headaches never went away.”

Sophia’s pediatrician initially diagnosed her with migraines, but realized Sophia was getting frustrated when she was asked to look at things with her right eye. A neuro-ophthalmalogist at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia ordered an MRI that on Feb. 28 showed the tumor, Lindsay said.

“It’s pretty likely that it’s been there for quite a while,” Lindsay said, as optic gliomas are slow-growing. Often they are benign, but in Sophia’s case, a biopsy found the tumor is cancerous. She lost the sight in her right eye, and the cancer has spread to her brain and spine, Lindsay said.

She’s been undergoing chemotheraphy since March to stabilize the tumor, which is inoperable because it is so close to Sophia’s pituitary gland.

It was shortly after Sophia’s diagnosis that the South Toms River and Lavallette police departments began their efforts to support the family.

Lindsay’s husband, Michael, is close friends with Gerry Aldo, who is an officer in Lavallette. Aldo began organizing efforts there, working with the South Toms River police and EMS to provide all manner of things to brighten the days.

“They’ve been so kind and helpful throughout,” Lindsay said. South Toms River made Sophia a police officer for a day, which she loved. And there have been gift card collections and a GoFundme set up to help with expenses since Lindsay had to quit working to tend to Sophia and her sister, Isabella, who’s 6.

A few weeks ago the family took cookies to thank the Lavallette and South Toms River police and EMS for all they’d done, and the three gave Sophia patches from their squads.

“I posted a picture showcasing her patch collection,” Lindsay said, with a note saying Sophia would love to have more.

Lavallette’s Police Benevolent Association took it from there, sharing the photo and offering to be a mail collection point.

On Saturday, they delivered dozens of envelopes and boxes and gifts to the Colavito home, complete with a parade of police and emergency vehicles to make the presentation.

“It’s hundreds of packages,” Lindsay said. “Last night we opened a package from the International Space Station, and we got one from the 9/11 Memorial Museum.”

They are organizing and logging the patches as Sophia opens the packages.

“We’re only about a quarter of the way through everything that’s been sent,” Lindsay said, noting that Sophia’s attention span, like most 4-year-olds, only lasts so long. So far they’ve counted 30 states and have received patches from several countries.

It’s a nice distraction from the chemotherapy sessions, which are weekly on Wednesdays, with her receiving treatments for four weeks at a time with three weeks off between. Sophia also has an MRI every three months to monitor the size of the tumor.

“Shrinkage would be a bonus but it’s not a guarantee,” Lindsay said. “They don’t really ever go away but typically go dormant” as a child becomes an adult.

While Sophia has had some reactions to the chemotheraphy, most of the week “she’s still a happy little 4-year-old, which we are very blessed with.”

“This likely won’t be the first time in her life she’ll have to undergo chemo,” Lindsay said. It’s a lifelong road with these tumors.”

It’s a road Sophia and her family are traveling with lots of support.

If you would like to like to contribute patches to the effort, they can be mailed to Lavallette PBA 372, P.O. Box 372, Lavallette, NJ 08735.

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