Deputies with the Washington County Sheriff’s Office held an official swearing in ceremony at a 14-year-old West Bend boy’s birthday party, fulfilling his dream to become a deputy himself.
Eli Morgan turned 14 on June 14, his golden birthday, a family friend reached out to the department to request a deputy to stop by the party as a special surprise.
Eli was born with a hypoplastic left heart, and according to a Facebook post by the Sheriff’s Office, "...the left side of his heart was severely under developed and he had to have a heart transplant at only 5 weeks old.”
“A transplanted heart ages faster and therefore does not last as long,” the post said. “Early this year doctors found that his heart is functioning less and less efficiently. Everyday things like eating and walking have become more and more difficult. He now receives oxygen and gets around in a wheelchair to conserve energy. So just having a Deputy stop by Eli’s party didn’t seem like enough for this special celebration.”
Sgt. Chad Beres along with Deputies Justin Jilling, Jeremy Miller and Dustin Thompson stopped by Eli’s party with a surprise for him: His own badge and uniform, custom made by the same people that make them for the department.
He was read the Oath of Office, and Eli was appointed a Junior Deputy. He posed for pictures, ran the siren of a squad car, and deputies clocked him in his wheelchair with the radar gun.
“We’re honored to have Eli as part of our blue line family,” the sheriff’s office said on Facebook. “Thank you to the Morgan Family for letting us share in your special celebration.”
