Former local sheriff's deputy pens children's book for charity

FLIGHT OF HOPE- In Jeret Doiron's children's book, "The Balloon's Message," a young boy uses a balloon to send a message to his grandmother in heaven. Proceeds from the book will benefit the Make a Wish Foundation and Oprah's Angel Network. Jeret Doiron remembers well the day he met MacKenzie Maier, a 4yearold girl suffering from cancer.

Doiron, a former Lost Hills sheriff's deputy, had a tradition of passing out stuffed Santa Claus dolls to kids he encountered while patrolling on Christmas Eve.

"I would always hand out the Santas and tell the kids, 'Santa told me about you,'" Dorion said. "'He told me you were good and to give you this stuffed Santa. He'll be by later tonight, too.' They loved it."

Doiron had worked patrol for eight years when, on Christmas Eve 2005, he met a girl who would change his life.

"All the kids would just be thrilled, but there was one girl who was especially excited," Doiron said. "MacKenzie was going through chemo- she didn't have any hair- and she was wearing all pink. When I handed her the Santa, she started shaking she was so excited."

The simple exchange led to a close relationship between Doiron and MacKenzie's family, including her mom, dad and two sisters.

"There's a point in time in your life that you kind of run into someone or something and it significantly changes you," Doiron said. "For me, that was MacKenzie."

Doiron set up a fund to help the Maiers pay the hospital bills that resulted from MacKenzie's brain cancer treatment. He provided the family with other assistance, such as helping them with chores. He read to MacKenzie and her sisters and developed a bond with the young girl.

As of a year ago, Doiron said, MacKenzie was and is still cancer-free. The girl is now 7.

Doiron has written a book to help other families like the Maiers. Doiron wrote "The Balloon's Message" this year, and it debuted last month. All the proceeds will go to the Make-A-Wish Foundation and Oprah's Angel Network.

In the story, a young boy ties a message for his grandmother to a balloon, hoping it will find her in heaven. Instead, it ends up bringing peace to a woman in a town miles away.

"The book is symbolic of the unseen spiritual world around us," Doiron said. "What we put out, God can use."

Doiron raised his nephews for a while when they were young, and he told them stories often. It was during that time that he decided to write one down for a good cause.

"After you deal with people for a while, you can really develop the attitude that people suck," Doiron said. "But they really don't. It's kind of nice to be passionate about something that involves people who really care."

"The Balloon's Message" is available at Xlibris.com, as well as Borders and Amazon online stores.