East Texas girl who writes thank you cards to officers now getting help from police
An East Texas girl who has captured the hearts of countless police officers all across the world is back in North Texas.
Savannah Solis has handwritten more than 6,000 thank you cards to police officers since 2014. Her journey brought her to Dallas in February of that same year.
Thursday, her family is in North Texas again, but this time for health reasons. Solis' law enforcement family found out and is rallying around them.
The Solis family has been traveling back and forth from their home in Tyler to the Metroplex for the past few months.
Savannah and her older brother are both dealing with health issues that require treatment in North Texas. The expenses are adding up, so some police organizations are helping out.
For years, 14-year-old Solis has been traveling the world to thank law enforcement officers for the difficult job that they do.
The Tyler resident was saluted by the Dallas Police Honor Guard in 2015 when she and her family arrived at DFW Airport after hand delivering thank you cards to officers in London.
Four years later, the Solis family is back in North Texas, but this time they are the ones in need of some support.
”Over Thanksgiving break, I started getting really sick,” Solis said. “Finally found out what it was: HSP.”
HSP is a disease involving the red blood cells. In Solis' case, it's affecting her kidneys. Her mom had to bring her to Cook Children's in Fort Worth for treatment in December.
A few weeks later, doctors determined Solis' older brother, Jabez, needed to have brain surgery. That's what brings them to town this time.
“More pain in the left arm, and I have trouble sleeping because my left hip hurts,” Jabez Solis said.
The stress caused their mom's existing problems worse. She had a fourth heart attack in eight years.
“I think it was just the toll of everything at the same time that I had my fourth heart attack a couple of days after we were in the ER with him,” Debbie Solis said.
“It's about being there for each other,” said retired Dallas police officer Ricardo Campbell.
Campbell met Solis when he was still on the force.
When he heard about the family's hardships, his nonprofit - Heroes, Cops and Kids - paid for their hotel room and travel expenses.
“I said we need to step up to the plate,” he added. “She's done a lot for law enforcement, so at least law enforcement can do something for her.”
Solis calls the men and women in blue part of her extended family, and she’s feeling the love.
“It's very encouraging for a family. It keeps us going to know that there are people out there supporting us,” Savannah said.
Jabez is set to have his operation Friday morning. The family will be in town through at least Tuesday.
Savannah is getting better, but needs to have her blood drawn every two weeks for the next year to make sure her kidneys are working properly.