Officer 'Mikey O'
Succumbs to Cancer
Police and Law Enforcement News
Thursday, August 24, 2006 11:50 a.m.
 The initial headline
of this story was
"Officer 'Mikey O' Loses Battle with Cancer."
It just didn't sit
right though, and I couldn't' figure out why.
I thought about it on and off during
my shift, and when I got home it occurred to me.
Mikey didn't
lose. He won.
In 2003, Michael O'Loughlin was a
patrolman with the roughly 20-member Cresskill Police Department in
Bergen County. In March of that year he was diagnosed with the
most advanced stage of colon cancer. This past Monday Mikey
died at home with family at his side. He was 39.
The reason I say Mikey didn't lose his
battle with cancer lies in how he lived since learning of his
illness on
that day in 2003.
Being diagnosed with terminal cancer
is something most of us cannot even begin to imagine. Most
certainly, Officer O'Loughlin was devastated when first given the
news. Most certainly, he was frightened for himself, his wife
MaryCatherine,
and his two children Bryan and Terence.
Mikey got past it though.
He rose above this disease and became
an inspiration to many. His family, friends, and colleagues
from the Cresskill Police Department (a true class act of a
department), gathered around him, and Mikey evolved.
 Instead
of becoming a recluse, Mikey went out and lived. He organized
and/or participated in fundraisers for both his family and various
cancer programs. He counseled others who had also been
diagnosed with similar illnesses and did all of this while
maintaining the role of husband and dad.
Each year we would get an email from
him asking to promote the Andiamo Benefit Motorcycle Run. That
is how I came to know him.
Although we only shared an email
relationship, you could just see how special he was in how he
maintained such a positive outlook while faced with such uncertainty
and peril.
If you would like to pay a small
tribute to Mikey, take 5 minutes of your life and use the link below
to read the journal kept by his wife MaryCatherine.
Below is a portion of one of the
entries:
July 31, 2006
Another god day of being with friends and loved ones.
We had a tough emotional day by going to
the funeral pallor and having Mikey making choices regarding his own
wake and funeral. The celebration of Mikey's life will certainly be
a grand one!
While going through the entries you
will first get choked up.
This will be followed by tears sliding
down your cheek.
After reading the entries, switch over
to the picture gallery page and go through some of the photos.
When you are done, MaryCatherine's
writings and images will have made you a better person. At
least for today, you will worry less about getting enough overtime
in your next check, which plasma television to purchase, or making
enough time to study for the upcoming promotional exam.
 Instead,
you will take a few moments to look around and be thankful for who
and what you have in your life.
By doing this you will have paid tribute to this street cop who loved motorcycles and
bagpipes and hockey.
No, this man didn't lose his battle.
There are certain people in this world
with the gift of bringing others together. There are certain
people with the gift to inspire.
How can someone like this, someone
like Mikey, have lost at anything?
Rest in peace our brother.
This piece would not be complete
without paying tribute to Mikey's wife MaryCatherine. How she
found the strength to write some of those entries while supporting
Mikey and raising the two boys is beyond me.
Truly, an amazing woman.
We all pray for your family.
Links
Click here to visit the journal.
Click here to visit the picture page.
Talk about Mikey.
How to Help
If you would like to help Mikey "O"
and his family, your donation can be made payable to:
"The Help Mikey "O" Conquer Cancer Fund"
c/o PBA Local 180
PO BOX 570
Cresskill, New Jersey 07626
Funeral Arrangements for Officer
Mikey O’Loughlin
The family will be present to receive
friends on Wednesday, August 23, from 7 to 9 pm and Thursday, August
24, from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 pm at Barrett Funeral Home, 148 Dean
Drive ? Tenafly ? NJ ? 07670 ? phone: (201) 568-8043 ? fax: (201)
568-8138-8135
http://www.barrettfuneralhome.net/ . A Mass of Christian Burial
will be celebrated on Friday, August 25, 11:15 a.m. at St. Therese
Church in Cresskill, NJ, where Mikey has been a parishioner his
entire life. Burial will follow at St. Anthony's Cemetery, Nanuet,
NY. In lieu of flowers, the O’Loughlin family requests donations to
“The Mikey “O“ Cancer Fund“, c/o PBA Local 180, PO BOX 570,
Cresskill, NJ 07626.
NJLawman.com
Police and Law Enforcement News
Thursday, August 24, 2006 11:50 a.m.
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