Not from life and death, but life and happiness - Police save birthday party

NORTH PORT, Fla. (WTXF/STORYFUL) - A Florida police department is getting big praise for helping a boy and his parents.

Daniel has autism and his mother said no one responded to say they'd be at his eighth birthday party.

That's when - grasping for straws -- she decided to invite the North Port police, who she said Daniel called his "Super Heroes."

It worked!

A number of officers turned out, much to Daniel's surprise and excitement.

Days later, the police shared video featuring some of the calls of praise -- some emotional -- they got from people who'd seen the story.

This is Daniel's mother's thank you note:

"It was my son Daniel's 8th birthday. No one called to say they were coming to his birthday party. Both myself and his father were heartbroken (it's happened before). He absolutely adores the police and calls all of you his Super Heroes. He is autistic so making friends is extremely difficult for him. His father (Dan) and I remembered the past 2 years of no one showing up for his birthday parties, he would spend the day crying that he had no friends. We could not let that happen again. So when it came closer to the day of his party and nobody called, we decided to be proactive and bring invitations to the police department. We were not given any promises. We just hoped. Daniel had no idea.

"While playing with his cousin Adam Sunday at McKibben Park he saw a large line of police cars coming down the road. He was so excited! His favorite friends came to his party. He is still talking about it being the best birthday ever! Thank you, North Port Police Department. You made my son's birthday extra special with his favorite super heroes!"