ARLINGTON, Texas _ Elliott Wyche, 4, may have been born with half a heart but, as his family is fond of saying, he has twice the fight. And on Monday, he had even more holiday spirit.
On social media, the 4-year-old with a rare heart syndrome is known as "Tin Man," a reference to the Wizard of Oz character of the same name who searches for a heart.
As his family has shared Elliott's story with hypoplastic left heart syndrome on his Facebook page and other social media, they've received enormous support and donations from the community.
As the holidays rolled around, Elliott's mom, Ashley Faith Wyche, started getting messages from some of Elliott's thousands of followers asking what he wanted for Christmas.
"But the truth is, he has a lot of toys and stuff," Wyche said. "We want him to have experiences instead. That includes the experience of helping people and giving to others."
In mid-November, the family started a toy drive for the Arlington Police Department's Santa Cops program, a community-wide program that donates toys and supplies to families in the area.
On Monday morning, the Arlington Police Department went to the Wyche family's home to pick up the boxes of toys they'd collected.
What Elliott did not know was the police department wanted to give back to him, too.
At 11 a.m., two motorcycle officers and the Arlington SWAT team pulled up in front of Elliott's home with police cars and a BearCat armored vehicle, Arlington Police Department Media Relations Coordinator Tim Ciesco said.
"Oh, Elliott was over the moon," Wyche said over Facebook messenger. "He LOVED it and now he feels like he has new friends. He's already invited them over for dinner 'next time.' Ha!"
Elliott sat on one of the motorcycles, put the helmet on and talked through the radio. SWAT officers gave him a hat and let him sit inside the armored vehicle. He even got to peek through the roof hatch and control the surveillance robot the team uses, Ciesco said.
"We wanted to give him a big surprise," said Officer Carla Strauser, Santa Cops chairperson, at the event. "My heart is so overwhelmed right now. I don't even know words to say how wonderful (Elliott) is. He's my hero. And this is just amazing what he's doing."
Afterward, Elliott and his parents loaded up the police cars with the boxes of toys _ Wyche said they collected about 40 items. Next year, they're hoping to get the word out sooner so they can collect even more, she said.
The Wyche family often encourages their followers and the community to pay it forward. Each year on Elliott's birthday, they ask people to donate to others in order "to give back to the heart community," Wyche said.
"I would just add that we really do cherish experiences like this," Wyche said. "We never know what challenges will pop up with Elliott's health and he has taught us to do our best to live in and enjoy the moment."
