Trevor Kling raised his hand and looked around at the crowd gathered at the Lakewood Police Department as he was sworn in as an honorary agent Aug. 9.
“It was scary. I was nervous because I didn’t want to embarrass myself,” Trevor said, recalling the moment.
Trevor, 14, a freshman at Smoky Hill High School in Aurora, is battling anaplastic astrocytoma, a rare brain cancer. He said he wants to be a police officer when he’s older and serve his community.
Lakewood police Sgt. Jonathan Lee decided he’d give Trevor a preview of the job and helped arrange a swearing-in ceremony earlier this month. Nearly 200 people attended. Lakewood police spokesman Steve Davis said dry eyes were “a rare thing” that morning.
“Our training room, where the ceremony took place, has seating for about 130. I watched it fill very quickly that morning,” Davis said. “Soon (people) were standing around the back and in the aisles.
“(The ceremony) reminds us that life is very precious,” Lee said. “Trevor has touched a lot of people’s lives.”
Afterward, Trevor joined Lee on patrol. “We went around the city. We got to pull someone over because they didn’t use their turn signal,” Trevor said.
Through 14 months of chemotherapy and 34 radiation treatments, Trevor has missed just one day of school because of his illness and has maintained a 3.8 grade-point average.
“Everyone always says that if you get an education you can be successful in life, and I want to be successful in life,” he said.
Trevor went into remission in November, but new tumors were discovered in May. He is receiving radiation treatments again and is scheduled to begin another round of chemotherapy.
“It has been hard, for sure, to see him go through all of the treatments and the MRIs, but it really brought us closer as a family,” said his mother, Cheryl Kling. “He is really the role model for us.”
The community is supportive, Kling said, raising money to help the family and dropping off meals so Trevor’s parents can focus on his health.
“The community has been so supportive and has really come together to help us through this,” Cheryl Kling said.
Through these trying months, Trevor has continued to follow his passions, like cheering on Wisconsin sports (Packers and Brewers) and bowling (he competes in a weekend league).
“I want to be seen as a normal kid,” he said.
What isn’t normal is this 14-year-old’s appreciation for life, observers say. Trevor’s battle has taught him to be strong and to recognize his personal strengths. He’s quick to share a life lesson with others.
“Nothing is for granted in life,” he said. “That is what I have learned.”