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A must read if you are a Heat fan.

Discussion in 'Lounge' started by McLovin, Dec 17, 2013.

  1. McLovin

    McLovin Resident Pats fan.

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    This showed up on my FB feed today from a good friend of mine. I had no idea that this was happening although I am aware of the young boy talked about here. I'm curious as to if you guys had heard anything about this over the past weekend? Regardless, I think it's a mighty gesture by the Heat, and I am impressed by the organization.







    Facebook peeps: Until this moment, I've been bound by a non-disclosure agreement, and therefore unable to publicly share the story of something really special that has been in the works for some time. Now that it’s over and I can finally discuss it, I’ll ask your forgiveness if I go on too long talking about it. My guess is that if you had witnessed what I just did, you might feel strongly compelled to tell the story as well. (Continued in the Comments Section below)
    Like · · Share · December 15 at 6:14pm near Raleigh, NC ·
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    I got to be a part of something pretty remarkable this weekend. It involved a young sports fan who has battled cancer for a mighty long time. It also involved what will likely be the last plane trip he'll ever take, and the final, biggest item that had remained on his Bucket List. If that type of story is not your cup of tea, just ignore anything I post today… but if that type of story interests you, some of the details I can now share may be pretty remarkable to you, too.

    Should you ever be asked to summon the better angels of our nature, you'll find it encouraging... It puts things into their proper perspective and may ultimately restore your faith in humanity. Some people, when asked what they might do to help a kid with such a dire prognosis rise to the challenge and produce results well beyond what we might normally expect on behalf of those who have caught a tough break. It's thrilling to behold.

    Many of us know all too well that cancer is a nasty adversary. Blaise McNair is a twelve year old boy with Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG) which is a tumor located in the pons (middle) of the brain stem. The brain stem contains all of the "wires" converging from the brain to the spinal cord, as well as important structures involved in eye movements and face/throat muscle control and sensation. The median overall survival of children diagnosed with DIPG is approximately 9 months. The 1-year survival rate is approximately 30%, and the 2-year rate drops to less than 10%. These statistics make it one of the most devastating of all pediatric malignancies. This diagnosis in a child is among the very worst.

    The standard treatment for DIPG is 6 weeks of radiation, which often dramatically improves symptoms. Unfortunately, problems usually recur after 6 to 9 months, and when they do, they progress rapidly. In their quest for a cure, DIPG children must move from one experimental protocol to another, enduring treatments with many side-effects which would be unacceptable with any other diagnosis. The cruelty of this disease cannot be denied.

    Sparing their cognitive abilities, DIPG slowly robs children of their motor functions, resulting in partial paralysis, loss of voice and sight and finally ending with an inability to eat and breathe. It is both heart-wrenching and painful, as they are fully aware of their decline, often until their very last day.

    Blaise was diagnosed July 2012, and they originally gave him 9 months. That was 18 months ago.

    When Blaise's Mom sensed that the cancer affecting his brain stem had finally begun to take too much of a toll on his body, she asked him if there was any last wish that he had. Like many 12-year-olds, Blaise is fascinated with the biggest and best athletes. When it comes to baseball, he loves Big Papi and his Red Sox, but when the conversation turns to hoops, it's LeBron James. Blaise isn't old enough to care about contracts or "The Decision" LeBron once made to leave his hometown Cleveland Cavaliers and “take his talents to South Beach.” Blaise just thinks that if LeBron is playing, he's the best athlete on the court.

    He’s right.

    His Mom explained that even though she knew it to be a long shot, she hoped for a way for him to meet his hoops hero. And since I had been able to arrange similar opportunities for him in the past, she approached me.

    I honestly cringed when I heard the request. I told her it would be a tall order, but that we could certainly try. Privately, I thought it might well be impossible, because superstars can’t possibly grant every wish that comes their way. This was one rabbit that I feared I wouldn’t be able to pull out of my hat.
    December 15 at 6:16pm · Like · 4

    I enlisted the help of many friends on Facebook and in the Triangle Red Sox Nation, and Blaise’s family put together an effort to reach out to LeBron’s camp via a YouTube video. Many folks from all over the country reached out, no matter how unlikely the chances of success. If your third cousin knew LeBron’s barber, or if your neighbor used to know someone who knew someone who once washed LeBron’s car, we gladly accepted your offer to help.

    For months, we heard nothing. (Sound of crickets chirping)

    Then, like a bolt out of the blue, around Thanksgiving, a hint of possible success… perhaps it was just one person whose message finally got through. It may have been the accumulation of multiple messages making their way to Miami and finally overwhelming the folks in the Heat Front Office… we’ll never be sure. All we knew was that it might actually happen… we just couldn’t say a word about it or the deal might disappear.

    It fell to me to find a way to get them to Miami. I summoned a few angels at American Airlines, and whoosh… we had tickets, and we had medical clearance from his Doctors at Duke to make one last trip.

    Holy smokes, this thing might actually happen… only we couldn’t talk about it due to the non-disclosure agreement… we were all about to burst!

    Finally, this past Thursday, I boarded a plane to Miami. Blaise was ready to go, along with his mother Linda, his sister Maggie, and their good friend Nick, a real-life, everyday hero to Blaise who serves as a de facto older brother and regularly helps carry Blaise when he needs lifting, bathe him when he needs cleaning, and joke with him when he needs to be cheered up.

    To say that the Miami Heat rolled out the red carpet for the young man is an understatement. Blaise left with a Miami Heat Headband, a Miami Heat Watch, specially-designed LeBron James Nike shoes, a Spalding Basketball autographed by each member of the Miami Heat, three pairs of socks, a set of Beats by Dr. Dre Headphones, an NBA 2K14 video game, a specially-designed Miami Heat jersey with his last name on the back, three Heat T-Shirts, Heat Sunglasses, and a Poster of the Miami Heat roster with a photo of Blaise in his Heat jersey carefully inserted right next to LeBron.

    Blaise was allowed to meet the entire team, get their autographs, take photos with them, tour the locker room, the training facilities, and watch them practice. He was invited to a lunch with them, but his inability to swallow comfortably kept him from truly savoring that. He even got one of the famous in-stadium introductions that the players receive before tipoff, complete with full-on pyrotechnics… the flames were four stories high!

    One fun moment at the arena came when LeBron noticed that Blaise’s family had carried a LeBron James Fathead all the way from North Carolina. LeBron came over and carefully inspected the oversized cardboard cutout of his face, then asked if Blaise would like it to be autographed. He signed it, then he held it up to his face and clowned around with Blaise and his sister Maggie, making them laugh with a funny, booming LeBron-as-Fathead voice.

    Another fun exchange involved Shane Battier, a member of the Heat who once played for Duke. Battier was extremely polite and was among the players who took a real interest in the McNair Family, but when he spied the UNC logos all over Blaise’s wheelchair, he smiled, and Blaise needled him by saying, “GO TAR HEELS!”
    December 15 at 6:16pm · Like · 4

    We then went to the game on Saturday night between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Miami Heat at American Airlines Arena. The Heat had set us up with some wheelchair accessible seating in a club level section, and the Heat won a close game. Toward the end I presented Blaise with my special surprise, a replica of the Heat’s Championship Ring in a child’s size that I had gotten from a contact at Jostens. He seemed happy enough to put it on, but as the game came to an end he assumed he would have to give it back. When his mother explained that it was his to keep, his jaw literally dropped. I’ll always remember his face, and those wide eyes.

    While that moment was special, for me, the most poignant part of the trip didn’t come at the arena. It came when we placed that NBA 2K14 cartridge with LeBron James on the cover into a video game console. The young man who can hardly move anymore was able to use the range of movement and control that remains in his fingertips to operate the video game controller and select a team… it didn’t surprise me when he chose to be the Miami Heat.

    What did surprise me was the way he was able to control LeBron on the screen… and therefore control the game… (trust me, his opponents were NOT trying to let him win.)

    Watching Blaise use his thumbs to make LeBron leap and soar through the air to block shots or thrown down huge rim-shaking dunks, all while the rest of his body failed him, is an experience I’ll never forget. If I ever had any doubt as to whether the clever, funny boy I had grown to love was still in there, just as sharp as ever, they were quickly erased. Blaise can’t move or speak well, but he can use that controller to hit a step-back three point shot as easily as any of us can flip a lightswitch.

    Tonight I ask you to pray for the doctors who are researching that dreaded disease so that other parents don’t have to receive such a devastating diagnosis. Tonight I also ask you to pray for that family. Tonight I’m trying to fight back tears, but I am smiling at the power of what sports can mean to some among us… and thankful for the efforts of so many angels who went out of their way to provide one last thrill for a wonderful young man.

    We appreciate the dozens of folks who reached out as best they could to try and make this happen for the McNairs. We appreciate Kathleen Michael, Brenda Scott, Jerry O’Conner and their many wonderful friends at American Airlines who offered us a discount, including a pilot, Richard Rigsbee, who offered us a nice surprise. We appreciate Lauralyn Bunn and Fred Hsia for opening their home to the McNairs. We appreciate Sybil Wilson, Michael McCollough Erick Torres of the Miami Heat Front Office for understanding how much something like this can mean to a family. We also appreciate several angels who have hinted that they may help us to cover some of the costs incurred on this fairly last-minute trip.

    I hope you all get a kick out of some of the photos I’ll be posting tonight and tomorrow. Thanks to so many of you for making a difference


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    Oh, and he did get to meet big Papi over the summer.
     
  2. MikeHoncho

    MikeHoncho -=| Censored |=-

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    Good read.
     
  3. Fin-Omenal

    Fin-Omenal Initiated

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    Sounds like the Heat organization did a lot more than give away some tickets and an autographed ball. Great story, great people.

    Heart goes out to that little guy and his family, life really isn't fkn fair.
     
  4. ToddPhin

    ToddPhin Premium Member Luxury Box Club Member

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    He lives a few miles from me. My wife is friends with him and his mother. Truly touching what LeBron and the Heat did for him, and it was just in time too, as I believe he's now reduced to mobility in the fingers of one hand. Wonderful that for a weekend he got to experience something every other kid in the country can only dream of.
     
  5. ToddPhin

    ToddPhin Premium Member Luxury Box Club Member

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    Just updating that Blaise passed away last night. :sad: LeBron and the Heat provided him his dream just in time.
     
    bigbry likes this.

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