Cop With Cancer Rescues 1,500 Hurricane Victims

After one Houston Police officer was diagnosed with stage four colon cancer, he refused to stop working but was taken off patrol and put on desk duty due to his health.

Officer Bert Ramon refused to sit by and do nothing when he knew how many people were stranded and in danger when Houston started to flood from Hurricane Harvey. However, his family, his case worker, and his fellow officers weren’t sure it was a good idea for him to go out in such dangerous conditions.

“I just said he does know his platelet counts are low? So he can bump, bruise, bleed easily,” said Diana Reed, Ramon’s case manager. “I said, ‘Hey, I’m fine.’ I said, ‘Don’t hold me back. I’ll go wherever I need to be,’” Ramon said. “There’s no way I can tell him, ‘You can’t go,’” his wife, Cindy Ramon said. “He says, ‘I’m goin’.’”

For four days, Ramos helped the city’s lake patrol team to rescue about 1,500 senior citizens and children and brought them to safety. “The public comes first. We’re officers. That’s what we do… As long as I feel good, I feel healthy, I’m going to go out there and work,” said Ramon.

“I hope I can inspire other cancer patients that, you know, don’t let this hold you back,” Ramon said. “If you feel strong, don’t let it take over your life at all.”