THANKSGIVING SHOUT OUT: An 8-year-old Hasbrouck Heights girl with severe cerebral palsy had one of her fondest holiday wishes granted with a visit from a female New Jersey state trooper who served in Iraq. Yet it was the trooper who insisted that she was most grateful.
“She has such an inspiring story, so much more than I can even describe,” Trooper Alina Spies told CLIFFVIEW PILOT this afternoon.
Giulianna Moore beamed through the day that trooper spent with her, her mother, Pasqualina, her two sisters — 10-year-old Angelina and 2½-year-old Isabella — and other family members.
“Her mother described it as love at first site,” Spies said.
“She’s an amazing and inspiring girl, and she has a wonderful family,” she said. “They give so much to Make a Wish and to other children in need. They’re beautiful inside and out.”
Giulianna’s grandfather had written to the State Police seeking support for Walk for Wishes, which last month raised $36,889 for the little angel. Spies brought the family plenty more.
Giulianna, who’s wheelchair-bound and requires a feeding tube and constant assistance, always wanted to meet a female trooper.
She got that, as well as a combat veteran.
Spies, who joined the State Police after leaving the military in 2008, gave Giulianna a letter from NJSP Supt. Col. Rick Fuentes, along with a colonel’s challenge coin, a State Police patch, an NJSP t-shirt, a teddy bear and items from the youngster’s favorite movie, “Frozen.”
“Lina has always told her girls they can be whatever they want,” Spies said. “She told me the visit made a difference in their lives, because I’m living proof.
“It made a difference to me, too,” she told CLIFFVIEW PILOT. “It made my holiday season even greater. I walked away from there with an entirely new outlook on life.
“I aboslutely love being a state trooper,” Spies said. “Our job isn’t easy, but moments like that make the sacrefices worth it.
“I look forward to see them again — and I will. This wasn’t a onetime visit. Giulianna and her family are very special to me.”
Lina Moore holds her niece, while NJ State Trooper Alina Spies holds Isabella, Angelina stands behind Giulianna (PHOTOS: Courtesy NEW JERSEY STATE POLICE)
