We spent a lot of time on “Pill Hill” in Seattle, at Children’s Hospital there. It was a sad place to be. Before the transplant she was there non-stop for several months, as home care wasn’t an option with how sick she was.

Seattle’s Children’s services Alaska, Montana, Idaho and Washington, the largest region of any of the “major” Children’s Hospitals in the country. My sister was in a ward with several cancer patients, including an amazingly positive and beautiful little Inuit girl with leukemia. Although I hope I’m wrong, I’m pretty sure didn’t make it.

There were a few lesser known Seahawks and Huskies that used to pop in semi-regularly, no tv coverage or recognition, they weren’t stars but they were athletes with tremendous capacity to give some attention to these sick sick kids, some of the kids (mostly the ones who were from out of state) didn’t always have family around all the time, as many parents had to work and provide what they could so they wouldn’t lose EVERYTHING even as their kids were dying. They were semi-regulars with some of the kids, and I just remember being impressed with the honor and integrity of those men.

Andre has been my favorite non-Seahawk for a couple years now, and this story just makes me appreciate him all the more.