Roy Hibbert To Surprise Dying Fan

[Sħãlïq™]

Pacers Roy Hibbert To Surprise Sick Sacramento Fan

 

It’s rare that you find anything other than Sacramento King news here at A Royal Pain – but every once in a while, a story deserves the attention from the masses and this happens to be one of those.

Sacramento native Lee Eddins, 12, is a huge basketball fan but more importantly, a bigger fan of Indiana Pacers center Roy Hibbert. Eddins, who has followed Hibbert since his days at Georgetown University likes to spread the wealth when it comes to his support of NBA teams and talent, but there was just something about Hibbert that stuck out to Eddins, making the Indiana big man the twelve year old’s favorite player.

 

The Pacers are scheduled to play the Kings in Sacramento around Thanksgiving and Eddins and his family have plans to attend the game, but unfortunately, Lee was diagnosed with stage four leukemia six months ago and has been told he might only have a couple of weeks left to live, so meeting his idol appeared to be out of the question. That was, until Hibbert got wind of Lee’s wishes.

 

Upon hearing of Eddin’s situation, Hibbert, who has a mild fear of hospital’s himself, has planned a surprise visit to Sacramento where he will meet with Eddins at week end:

 

“Once I heard he had a dying wish, I knew I had to do something more than send him presents and Skype with him on the computer,” Hibbert said.

“I’m usually uncomfortable going to hospitals when the Pacers do events because it’s pretty tough to see kids in that situation. Once I heard about (Lee), I realized I had to get over it and do it for him.”

Source

 

Sadly, Lee has passed away as Roy has been waiting for his flight in Indianapolis.

condolences to Lee's fam, and props to Hibbs. Been a fan as a player, now I'm his fan as a person.

Edited August 20, 2012 by Sħãlïq̵'

[Real Deal]

Hibbert should attend the funeral. That would be a great thing to do.

[Sħãlïq™]

Hibbert should attend the funeral. That would be a great thing to do.

^ Indeed. Read he's been notified by phone, and has taken the trip anyway to comfort the boy's family. Hibbert's dedicated next season to Lee and taken on the mission of encouraging people to become bone marrow donors.

Edited August 20, 2012 by Sħãlïq̵'

[ChosenOne]

Hibbert should attend the funeral. That would be a great thing to do.

 

Yes it would be a great thing to do, but it also might just be a little to much.

[Sħãlïq™]

Saw this on one other board. Please look into it.:

 

The story hit me particularly hard because I have a sister who is a leukemia survivor. At the time she contracted it, there was less than a 5% chance of survival. She underwent treatment for 17 years... from 3 years old until she was 20, including chemotherapy and radiotherapy. She spent almost her entire childhood in Great Ormond Street Hospital for children (the one honored in the Olympic opening ceremony) and her best friend was a fellow patient who ended up not being as lucky as my sis.

 

This disease takes an unimaginably brutal toll on a body, but a bone marrow transplant helped my sister to become the proud, healthy mother of 4 she is today.

 

One of the things Hibbert mentioned in his interview was that a white child has a 70% chance of finding a donor match, while a black kid has only a 17% chance, so I urge you to consider getting swabbed (just a cotton swab in your mouth) and added to the database. If you're matched, it can be a painful experience to donate... but not nearly as much as it used to be... and there's no better way to earn your stripes as a 'Most Valuable Person' than to literally save the life of a child.

 

http://marrow.org/Join/Myths_and_Facts/Myths___Facts_about_Donation.aspx

 

Any kid you know could be hit by this [expletive]er at any time.

Edited August 21, 2012 by Sħãlïq̵'

[Legacy]

So the kid passed away before Hibbert visited him? rest in peace. Would be great if he did attend that funeral.