Ben Roethlisberger gives signed cleats to young cancer survivor
Ben Roethlisberger helped provide a “really happy ending” to a young fan’s successful battle with cancer by giving the boy a pretty great piece of memorabilia during a meet-and-greet at the Pittsburgh Steelers facilities last week.
Carson Boyle, 9, got a chance to visit his favorite football player courtesy of the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Hailing from Minersville, Pa., the Boyle family was escorted by limousine to Steelers headquarters where they met both Roethlisberger and running back DeAngelo Williams.
While it was awesome to meet Williams -- who spent as much time with the youngster as did the Steelers quarterback -- it was Carson’s meeting with Roethlisberger that provided the highlight of the day.
Roethisberger spent about 20 minutes visiting with Carson and gave the boy a memento celebrating their visit that surely will be treasured for years to come: The aforementioned pair of autographed cleats.
Images courtesy of Jeremy Fowler/Instagram:
Carson was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer last November. Many surgeries followed and he’s been cancer-free since January. Unfortunately, there is a one-in-three chance over the next several years that cancer could develop in his lymph nodes.
But all that was forgotten for one special day. Carson’s mother, Jennifer, explained just how great meeting Big Ben was for her son.
“To Carson, there’s nothing bigger than meeting him and getting something autographed,” she said, via ESPN. “He literally couldn’t even speak. He was speechless. The look on his face, he was just in total amazement that he was there. [Ben] was really, really nice.”
Carson’s mother pointed out that the entire visit provided a perfect ending to what has been a tumultuous and trying year.
“He said this was kind of like a storybook -- it had a really rough beginning and a really happy ending,” she said.
And about those cleats?
“He wouldn’t let hotel room service in our room,” Carson’s mother reported on how he was treating his new prized possessions.
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