South Jersey boy gets support from emergency workers before surgery

A New Jersey boy got an outpouring of support from his heroes—police officers and firefighters—as he prepares to take the next step in his battle against epilepsy.

Riley Carty, 10, of Westville, NJ, began having seizures when he was seven-years-old. At a certain point, the medication designed to help control his seizures stopped working, and so his family decided to pursue temporal lobe surgery, a procedure in which doctors remove he part of the brain that causes seizures.

His mother, Jenn, told Fox29 Riley asked for "police t-shirts to wear as PJs," before surgery. A Camden EMT, Jenn reached out and began receiving paraphernalia from police and fire departments from different states.

Riley is scheduled to enter the hospital on Monday and have a two-week stay at CHOP. The family has set up a Facebook page, Riley Carty's Renegades Against Epilepsy, for Riley's updates and so departments can donate items to Riley.

"They are his heroes, he can tell you anything you want to know, and for these guys to take time out to give a shirt, hat, their time, it's amazing," Jenn told Fox29.

[Fox29]