{"id":26626,"date":"2023-10-07T16:59:06","date_gmt":"2023-10-07T16:59:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cahootie.com\/?p=26626"},"modified":"2023-10-07T16:59:06","modified_gmt":"2023-10-07T16:59:06","slug":"lad-19-who-survived-burns-to-80-of-body-that-left-him-blind-made-honorary-cop","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cahootie.com\/world-news\/lad-19-who-survived-burns-to-80-of-body-that-left-him-blind-made-honorary-cop\/","title":{"rendered":"Lad, 19, who survived burns to 80% of body that left him blind made honorary cop"},"content":{"rendered":"

A 19-year-old who \u201cmiraculously\u201d survived having 80% of his body burned during a horrific candle fire at his home has been made an honorary police officer.<\/p>\n

Zaid Garcia was left with severe burns after a candle caught fire to his home in 2015 and engulfed his blankets as he slept. His eyes were so severely burned in the incident which happened when he was a toddler, that surgeons covered them in skin to help them recover.<\/p>\n

But in an uplifting turn of events, Zaid, from Galveston, Texas, United States, has become an honorary police officer against all the odds \u2013 fulfilling a dream he has had since he was aged just 10-years-old. New images of the lad being given a tour of the police station, and a ride in a cop car, have been posted online, while a video shows him being called \u201cOfficer Garcia\u201d.<\/p>\n

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And speaking to local news outlets, he said: \u201c'I am so excited, really, I have no words. This is like one of the best days of my life. I told her, 'mom, I think I can do it, you know', and to be honest I didn't even believe it myself. Since my accident happened, I like to protect people. So my dream was kinda like to be a police officer.<\/p>\n

\u201cI ended up proving doctors wrong, too, you know. They thought I could not make it, but here I am.\u201d<\/p>\n

And his appearance at the station was an emotional one for officers on-site. Sergeant Jeremy Lahar said: \u201cThey really kind of make you take a step back and be appreciative of everything that you might take for granted on a daily basis. Everybody who's come in contact and had the pleasure of meeting him today has left better than before they met him.\u201d<\/p>\n

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