The child was very young when he first met him. He was just
recovering from brain surgery. He developed a brain tumor when he was two years
old. His parents, though they visited, were not entirely supportive. They had
their new family, two other children who they would drag along to each visit
with their child in the hospital. Between visits, it almost seemed as though
they had forgotten entirely that they had another son. This little child,
though, never forgot and always looked forward to his parent’s visits. He had
met this little one at the children’s hospital, when he was signing autographs
and taking pictures with the patients as a promotional event for his sports
career. He played for a popular team and was very successful. The moment he set
foot in the children’s hospital, everything changed for him. He met so many
beautiful people. In hindsight, he considered himself naïve that it came as a
shock to him that children could be subject to such unfortunate situations. He
always believed that only bad people, people who in some way deserved it, were
saddled with these sorts of fates. The first time he met this little boy, the
boy was five years old. He was seated behind a long table and signing
autographs for the other patients, nurses and family members when the little
boy came up around behind the table and held out his arms to him. The football
player was nothing of a family man, lived a party lifestyle and didn’t have
much experience with kids. The manager came over to scold the child when he
pushed the manager away and reached out to pick up the little one. As he picked
him up, the boy turned his head so that he could see the large scar across his
head. A tear formed in his eye as the child put his arms around him and held
him. The boy clung to him for a minute until patiently, the football star
placed him down on the ground and continued to sign autographs and to pose for
photos. But afterwards, he asked his manager to find out where the child was so
that he could send him a personalized autographed photo. The manager did as he
was asked and the football player sent a photo and a gift basket with toys and
movies and games. He was very surprised when he received a letter in response
one day from the boy, written in illegible handwriting with a copy of what he
had written underneath it in clearer handwriting. The boy expressed his love
for football and how he wished he had a dad like him. He loved watching him
play on television in the hospital common area. And so, the two, the boy and
the football player exchanged letters for a couple of years. They both sent a
letter a month until one day, the football player received a letter in a
different envelope. This letter didn’t have the boy’s handwriting on it.
Reading the letter, he started to cry. The boy had developed another tumor and
had to go for surgery again. The boy wished that he could see the football
player one more time. Getting in his car, almost immediately, he drove to the
hospital, which happened to be fairly far away. When he got to the boy’s room,
he watched the boy through the window. The boy was watching one of his football
games and was jumping up and down with joy as his team made a touchdown.
Slowly, he pushed aside the door and when the boy saw him, his joy increased. “I
have to go back for surgery,” he said sadly. “I know,” the football player
responded. “But you will be okay.” The boy looked down. “The only thing I want
is to run a touchdown. I’ll probably never get to do that.” The football star
left that evening with conviction and sorrow. He knew he wanted to do something
for the boy but he didn’t know what he could do. Besides, he had a football
game coming up that he had to concentrate on. When he thought of the football
game, something in his mind clicked. That’s it! He knew what he would do. He
called his manager that evening. The morning after, he called the hospital,
looking to speak with the boy. They said that was impossible. When he said who
he was, they recognized him and his friendship with the boy. He asked them if
he could arrange to come and pick the boy up that Friday. And after some
convincing, they agreed. That Friday, when he picked the boy up, the boy was
curious but overjoyed to see his friend. “Where are we going?” He asked. The
football star smiled coyly and handed him a football. “Where are we going?” He
repeated, with enthusiasm. The football player kept quiet until they were in
front of the city stadium. “We’re going to see a game?” The boy cried with
excitement. Entering the building, the football player knelt down held the
boy’s shoulders gently and said, “I have to go get ready. I’m going to leave
you with my manager.” The boy nodded and smiled. The manager took him to his
seat at the front row behind the middle of the field. The game passed very
quickly, so great was the boy’s excitement. The manager got him some popcorn
and a soda. Towards the end of the game, there were about thirty seconds
remaining when the whistle was called. His team was down a couple of points.
When the boy looked up, he saw his own face on the screen. He smiled shyly and
looked to the manager beside him. The manager smiled at him. Then, the referee
spoke into a microphone. “Ladies and gentlemen, we have a very special guest
here with us today. He is a friend of one of our football players. We would
like to invite him onto the field right now.” The manager stood and walked out
onto the field. The boy watched him and followed slowly when he turned and
beckoned to him with his hand. Then, when they were all in the middle of the
field, his friend the football player, helped the boy to put his team’s jersey
on. It was his size. When he had gotten it on, the team lined up and the
whistle was blown. The boy was given the ball. He ran with all of his might,
with all of his strength and with all of his heart. The other team followed him
slowly, trying to tackle him but failing. The rest of his team cheered him on
until he made his touch down. With victory, he held the football in the air and
threw it at the ground, like he had seen so many times on television. The crowd
went wild and his friend picked him up on his shoulders and the rest of the team
came and gave him high fives. That evening, when he returned to the hospital,
he hugged his friend and said to him, “That was the best day of my life. Thank
you.” The boy was operated on a week later. He made a miraculous recovery
within a week. His friend, the football star, visited him every week until he
was eventually discharged from the hospital.
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