BURLINGTON, Connecticut — Dozens of people stopped to support 8-year-old Collin Genetti-Moore. He first was diagnosed with Ewing Sarcoma in 2022 and thought it was gone for good, but in December 2023 his family learned it had returned.
He began receiving chemotherapy at Connecticut Children’s Medical Center, where word got out that he wants to be a police officer when he grows up.
Saturday morning, artists Abigail Robins and Alivia Lockery started painting this rock to show Collin and his family that they have back-up. “We came out like nine this morning started painting, we just wanted to let him know that like he's not alone that the whole community is one of them,” said Robins.
That’s when retired Hartford Police officer and part-time Burlington officer Sargent Robert Russell noticed the new design on the town rock. “I was driving by this morning, and I saw they were painting the rock and it gets painted for different reasons,” said Russell.
One of the artist said he wanted to be part of the celebration when he found it was for Collin. “We were doing the police logo, and he was like, what are you guys doing? We were talking about Colin, and he was like, 'oh my God, we all love Colin! Is there anything we can do to help?'” said Lockery.
So, Russell spread the news to other agencies like the Burlington Fire Department, Connecticut State Police, and town leaders. Collin’s mom, Megan Genetti, said she was surprised by Saturday’s event. “When we pulled up, his face just lit up, and then he's like, 'there’s fire trucks and there's police,' he was all excited, and I don't even think he had seen his friends yet, so when he saw them, he was embarrassed, but as you can see, now he's loving every minute of it,” said Genetti.
Community and friends wrote messages of support on the rock. For now, Colin is done with chemotherapy as he prepares for a more specialized treatment this summer. “We’ll be at Mass General in Boston for six weeks of radiation. It's called proton radiation. It’s very specific to his cancer and where it's located in his body, which is his abdomen and his lungs. And we're hoping that this will get most of the cells out of him and then we will also continue chemo, through the rest of the year, once we get back to Connecticut,” said Genetti.
While surrounded by friends and family and the men and women in blue, Collin was given a badge to put cancer away for good. “I just gave him my old my retired Sargent badge, so he can wear it on his belt and everything and hopefully it gives him you know, more drive to fight the fight and we're all going to be there with him to do this,” said Russell.
Collin's mom was moved by the kindness of strangers. “It's taken a lot to get to this point. It's been very emotional. It's been a long road, and to know all these people who don't even know him come together to do something and meet up here last minute, you know, to honor this with him is it is very heartfelt,” said Genetti. Collins friends and family have started a GoFundMe to help pay for expenses related to Collin’s six-week treatment in Boston.
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