Ryan Grant admittedly is bored out of his mind. On crutches since his ankle surgery in September, he misses his day job - running by linebackers for the Green Bay Packers.
So he's checking his e-mail more than usual. On Friday when he saw a message about an 11-year old Packers fan with an advanced stage of leukemia, he asked his agents to buy a ton of Packers stuff. He knew the situation was dire but the boy was trying an experimental treatment. So he planned a trip to Milwaukee. For the next day.
"Can I spend some time with him or does it have to be quick?" Grant wanted to know.
The relationship between the Packers and their fans has always been special, but Grant wanted to give this boy a story to share with his friends. A friend of the boy's family, Mark Winters, and Grant, through his agents, began planning a surprise visit.
But this is a story that will break your heart. Because even though there's always a winner every day in the sports pages, there are still unimaginable facts of life that bring everyone - even star athletes - back to reality.
And back to the oncology unit at Children's Hospital of Wisconsin, where the thought of little kids fighting for their lives brings up all kinds of questions of fairness and all kinds of regret about sweating the small stuff. And where Ryan Luxem has spent way too much of his young life.
Ryan had six healthy years. That's it. Sweet faced and apple cheeked, Ryan had a swollen lymph node that led to a diagnosis of T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia on May 2, 2006.
He and his parents, Matt and Amy, of Union Grove have been regulars at Children's ever since. They fought the leukemia with chemotherapy and radiation, but it came back in 2008, 2009 and February of this year. He's had bone marrow transplants. He's endured painful stomach aches and failing kidney function.
But there is a real boy in there - not just a patient. So Ryan loves dinosaurs, origami and the Green Bay Packers, especially Donald Driver, Aaron Rodgers and, of course, Grant.
Knowing this, Winters sent an e-mail for help to boost Ryan's spirits. And while Grant wishes he were giving the Packers another 1,200-yard season, he jumped at the chance to do something. Anything.
"All I could think was: 'Whatever Ryan wants at this point, if it can possibly be done, do it,' " said Grant.
So as Grant's teammates were busy preparing for the upcoming game with the Vikings in Minnesota, he took the two-hour ride from Green Bay to Wauwatosa, where he was met by his agents from Elite Sports & Public Relations and a bag of goodies.
The Crowne Plaza hotel held a MACC Fund dinner Saturday night, and the Luxem family attended. The hotel set Grant up in a room, and Winters led Ryan and the family there.
Gift giving
A lot of kids light up when a Packer chooses their bike to ride at training camp or when they take the time to crack a joke at Fan Fest. Almost every one of those kids gets tongue-tied, too.
Ryan Luxem walked in to that hotel room, met Grant and froze - his grin as wide as the knit cap that covered his head.
His mom stood a few steps back, smiling, holding her lips, tears ready to spill over, only she looked as if she wouldn't allow it in order to take in every second.
"She hadn't seen him smile so much in a long, long time," said Winters.
"The mother the whole time is looking at Ryan," said Grant. "And she's choked up. For me that was . . . I can't imagine what they're going through as a family."
Plenty of athletes sign autographs or snap photos and then move on, done with it. Grant visited with Ryan for more than 90 minutes. First he gave out gifts, which included a No. 25 jersey - so big it could fit running back Brandon Jackson. "Couple of curl-ups and you'll fit that in no time," said Grant.
Grant gave him an autographed football by receiver Greg Jennings, a signed photo by linebacker Nick Barnett and signed playing cards - "You might want to sell these on eBay." More gifts. Even a red challenge flag and advice on how to use it on his parents.
Ryan's younger brother and sister visited with Grant, as well as Matt and Amy. After a while, Ryan found his nerve and his voice and began sharing about school subjects, friends and big plans.
"I just kept watching his demeanor," said Grant, who expected the boy to be down. Instead, Ryan beamed. "His whole demeanor was phenomenal. I never got the feeling that he felt sorry for himself.
"For an 11-year-old kid to be so appreciative really puts things in perspective, for anyone, but especially me."
Everyone left the room with hope. Ryan even expected to attend school on Monday after missing two weeks. But Monday was miserable.
Touched by tornado
The tornado that ripped through the area damaged the Luxem home and property. There's debris to be cleared. Matt, a carpenter, is busy setting up jobs.
Worse, doctors said a clinical trial chemotherapy drug was not working for Ryan.
"He had blood work done, and the results showed that 100% of those cells tested were cancerous," said Winters. "Ryan is being taken off of the drug. That was his last hope at survival. He and the family were asked if they wanted to take another oral chemo drug to try and prolong his life a few more weeks or just let him go.
"Ryan wants to take the chemo, so he was sent home with the oral chemo for now. Matt and Amy are obviously very upset, and I'm told that Ryan is really down right now, as you might imagine. He's feeling more sick, as well. Ryan knows he only has a short time to live, and that is very scary for a young boy who has been trying to grasp onto hope."
What words should go here? . . . Some message of how we should all be thankful? Some lesson that every day is a gift?
Impossible.
The Luxems didn't ask for a thing. There's no push for a fund-raiser. They are just going through the worst nightmare any parent can imagine. They're so busy right now with their Ryan, their two other young children, the house, the tornado and the holiday.
In fact, the family has asked for some privacy.
Matt was busy Wednesday delivering turkeys (he prepared himself) and homemade pies to the staff at Children's out of gratitude for their care.
Amy was getting medical supplies. They have been told Ryan must be readmitted to Children's next week.
As their story became known Wednesday, they were too busy to even think about how to let people know how to help them. But the family wanted to make sure Grant knew how grateful they were.
"It's a great memory for him to have now, and it meant a lot to him and his parents," said Winters. "I know they will cherish Ryan Grant's kindness."
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