YORK COUNTY, Va. (WAVY) – A York County teen with special needs got a special treat for her birthday. To help her celebrate, some of her hometown heroes surprised her at school.
Hannah Wymer’s mom isn’t sure where this love of law enforcement comes from, but says it’s always been there. About a year and a half ago, Hannah decided to take another step to show her support, with an improvised blue light outside of her home. The sheriff’s office saw it and decided to support her on her 13th birthday on Monday.
Hannah has faced some challenges in her 13 years of life.
“She has a mild case of cerebral palsy, and like I said she was born preemie,” said Debbie Wymer, Hannah’s mother.
But she’s always had a soft spot for law enforcement. “It affects her drastically, like it’s her own family,” said Debbie.
Debbie isn’t sure where this love of law enforcement comes from. “There’s nobody in my family that’s in the military, or law enforcement, or firefighters.” However, she does know the death of state trooper Chad Dermyer, who was killed in the line of duty, is what made Hannah put this blue light up in front of their house.
“That really affected her,” Debbie said. “She was really concerned with his wife, with his children, I mean it devastated her.”
The light caught the attention of the York-Poquoson Sheriff’s Office. Sheriff Danny Diggs said, “It means the world to us that somebody is thinking about us day and night and putting out blue lights for us. It just means a lot to us.”
They pulled together with EMTs and firefighters to do something to say “thanks” for Hannah’s support.
“We heard it was her birthday, and we wanted to come out and give her a special 13th birthday,” Sheriff Diggs said.
So on Monday, with balloons and a police officer bear in hand, a group of law enforcement officers surprised Hannah at Yorktown Middle School.
“It’s nice and kind that all these officers came out to my school to surprise me,” Hannah said.
At first, she was speechless, but it didn’t take long for her to warm up to her heroes. “I keep them safe and think about them everyday,” she said.
Hannah says this is the best birthday she’s ever had and she’ll make sure the blue light stays on.
