A kid’s birthday party during a pandemic can be tough. Deputies figured out a way

Life under a pandemic is new to everyone and finding ways to make important days special while social distancing takes creativity.

It’s a challenge Mike Foy faced when it came time to plan his son’s eighth birthday. But with a little help from the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office, Wednesday transformed into the young boy’s, “Best birthday ever,” said Foy. “That’s what he told me. And we’ve taken him to Disney and all the parks so that’s saying something.”

Foy, who asked that his son’s name not be published, has family that is serving with or has served with sheriff’s office, including his father, a retired homicide detective. Foy’s son never fails to light up whenever he sees a patrol car. His uncle is currently a deputy and wasn’t going to let his nephew down.

On Wednesday, Foy’s son saw several cruisers, led by his uncle, driving down his street with lights flashing, sirens activated and deputies singing Happy Birthday over their radios.

“We were hanging outside and he had no idea,” Foy said. “He saw the cars coming down the street and asked, ‘Daddy, are they coming for me?’ It was absolutely amazing.”

Foy said his son couldn’t stop talking about his special day.

“It was pretty cool,” he said. “There’s not much we can do with this virus going around. Everyday life is some school work and we go outside in the yard, but he’s getting pretty board. I talked to the sheriff’s office and they agreed to do this and that was awesome.”