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Last Thursday, the sporting world felt the pain when Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes dislocated his kneecap during a football game against the Denver Broncos. But if you look carefully at photos of the pain-stricken 24-year-old and Chiefs’ MVP this season, you’ll spot a pale blue bracelet around his wrist. For those with remarkable eyesight, you might even notice the words “You Got This” written on the band.
At a time when the Chiefs are heading towards the Super Bowl, this message is one Mahomes has to cling to in order to rise above the pain, and hopefully heal in time to return to the field. While he couldn’t be wearing a more suitable message, the football star is actually paying homage to a young fan named Whitney Wells.
On her 10th birthday, last May, Whitney’s parents noticed their daughter wasn’t behaving properly. Her expressions were unusual and as they shared with Kansas City.com, their daughter’s physical movements were different. Subsequent visits to Children’s Mercy Hospital revealed that the youngster had a brain tumor, diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG), which is incurable.
The effects of the tumor have left Whitney with physical movement problems, as well as mood swings — something her parents, Scott and Tara, must find difficult to experience considering how bubbly their daughter once was.
Yet, in order to give Whitney some wonderful experiences while she’s able to enjoy them, the family arranged for the Chiefs’ fan to join them at a camp last August. While there, Whitney met with Mahomes, along with wide receiver Sammy Watkins, tight end Travis Kelce, and head coach Andy Reid, and handed out the pale blue fundraising bands to her football heroes.
It was only during a game in September, while watching a game on TV, that the family noticed that Mahomes was wearing the bracelet. As Whitney’s father Scott shared, “It made us feel like they care. We’re always looking for it now. It does make it a better day when we see it — or a better weekend.” And if you look through Mahomes’ Facebook account you’ll find plenty of glimpses of the blue bracelet in his posts.
It was a message that Mahomes obviously took to heart, because if the Wells family looked closely on the screens last Thursday, they’d have noticed the stricken star still wearing the bracelet, still lending his support to Whitney and her family.
And today we celebrate...