4-year-old cancer survivor becomes honorary trooper

PEMBROKE, N.C.

For 4-year-old Rivers Malcolm, that place is Linda's Restaurant in Pembroke.

"He comes with me to Linda's every day. We have breakfast, and then come back and have lunch," Rivers' grandmother Olivia Revels said.

In between trips to the popular restaurant they go to Chapel Hill for procedures at Pediatric Cancer Center.

In September 2010, Rivers was diagnosed with a Wilms tumor.

"It broke everybody's heart when we found out he had cancer," Revels said.

It has been a long two and a half years, but just a couple months ago the family received a major blessing -- a stem cell transplant for Rivers.

That's when retired Highway Patrolman Sgt. Mike Chavis spotted the boy eating at Linda's.

"He was going from table to table lighting up all the people in here with his resiliency," Chavis said. "He'd just gotten out of the hospital and surgery, but somebody forgot to tell him he wasn't supposed to be happy."

When Chavis found out Rivers wanted to be a trooper, he made it happen.

On Friday, the 4 year old was sworn in as an honorary member of the Highway Patrol. The little man got to hang with the big boys, with the official hat, badge and all.

After a hard-fought battle, Rivers is cancer free, but his battle with cancer has done nothing short of touch and bring a community together.

"This is a 4 year old that's dealing with things that most adults couldn't deal with," Chavis said. "Now that's a trooper."

See It On TV | Report A Typo |  Send Tip |  Get Alerts | Send us photos
Follow @abc11 on Twitter  |  Become a fan on Facebook

Copyright © 2024 WTVD-TV. All Rights Reserved.