A young boy who was inspired after learning about Kyle Pagerly's life has been given a unique honor.

Christopher Carswell, 13, of Brunswick, Ga., traveled to Reading on Thursday for a unique reason. He has had to overcome tremendous health problems over the years, said his mother, Janet Carswell. When Christopher was nine, while at school, Carswell said something terrifying happened to her son.

"In 2007 is when he had his seizure and he was in ICU," said Carswell.

Christopher was in a coma for seven and a half hours. It was that hospital stay, Carswell said, that changed her son's life.

When Christopher woke up from his coma, he decided to write a book about his encounter with Jesus Christ. In his book, "I Met Jesus... He's Cool!" he wrote, "I looked up into the light. It was even brighter now! I saw Jesus coming down from the light. Jesus came down and sat beside me, held me close and told me it was going to be okay. He told me I was going back home to my family."

The experience, and help from his canine service dog, Bronx, made Christopher realize that he wanted to make a difference.

"He's my service dog and my friend," said Christopher.

Christopher founded 1Boy4Change, raising money for others like him who are "fighting" instead of living in fear.

"I've also been granting service dog wishes for kids," said Christopher.

1Boy4Change also raises money for K9 units across the country. Through Facebook, Carswell has formed relationships with K9 officers from around the world.

It was last year, Janet Carswell said, when fallen sheriff's Deputy Kyle Pagerly's mother, Michelle, noticed her son's efforts and reached out to him.

"Her closing words were if Kyle was alive, he would have wanted Chris to get a card from him," said Carswell.

On Thursday, Christopher met Pagerly's K9, Jynx, and became an honorary member of "Friends of the Berks County Sheriff K9." He will also be meeting Pagerly's widow, Alecia, and 5-month-old daughter, Savannah. It's a meeting, he expects, will give him the courage to keep "fighting" for others and something, Christopher said, Kyle Pagerly would be proud of.