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cheeseheads123
14 years ago
http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/sports/110261689.html 

Ryan Grant is admittedly bored out of his mind. In crutches since his ankle surgery in September, he misses his day job -- running past linebackers for the Green Bay Packers.

So hes checking his e-mail more than usual. And on Friday when he saw one message forwarded to him about an 11-year old Packers fan with an advanced stage of leukemia, he asked his agents to buy a ton of Packers stuff. Then he planned a trip to Milwaukee. For the next day.

Do you think I can 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. Grant was going to make the time and the effort 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 theres always a winner every day in the sports pages, there are still unconscionable facts of life that bring us even star athletes -- back to reality.

And back to the oncology unit at Childrens 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 time.

Sweet faced and apple cheeked, Luxem had six healthy years. Thats it. A swollen lymph node led to the diagnosis of T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia on May 2, 2006.

He and his parents, Matt and Amy, from Union Grove, have been regulars at Childrens ever since. They fought the leukemia with chemotherapy and radiation, but it came back in 2008, 2009 and February of this year. Hes had bone marrow transplants. Hes endured painful stomach aches and failing kidney function.

But there was a real boy in there -- and not just a hospital patient -- and so Ryan loves dinosaurs, origami and the Green Bay Packers, especially Donald Driver, Aaron Rodgers and of course, Grant.

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. So as Grants teammates were busy preparing for the upcoming Vikings game 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 full of goodies. The Crowne Plaza hotel held a MACC Fund dinner Saturday night and the Luxem family attended. The hotel lent a room to Grant. Winters led Ryan and the family to the room.

Now I have seen 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. And I have seen almost every one of those kids go tongue tied and shoe shuffled. 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 like she wouldnt allow it because she had to take in every second.

She hadn't seen him smile so much in a long, long time, said Winters.

Plenty of athletes sign autographs or snap photos and then move on and be done with it. But I know Packers give more when they can. 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 Brandon Jackson. Couple of curl ups and youll fit that in no time, said Grant.

Grant gave him an autographed football by Greg Jennings, a signed photo by 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.

Ryans brother and sister, both younger than him, 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.

Everyone left the room with hope. Ryan even expected to attend school on Monday after missing two weeks.

But Monday was miserable.

The tornado that ripped through the area happened to damage the Luxem home. Theres debris to be cleared. Matt is also busy setting up jobs, as he works in carpentry and repair and there are other homes that were damaged.

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 all should be thankful? Some lesson? Its impossible. The Luxems didnt ask for a thing. Theres no push for a fundraiser. They are just going through the worst possible nightmare any parent can imagine. And theyre so busy right now with their Ryan, their two other young children, the house and tornado and the upcoming holiday.

The family wanted to make sure Grant knew how grateful they were. Thankfully, Grants agent Stacy Jenson was smart enough to grab the video camera. Its all there, if they ever want to re-visit that small moment when life wasn't so hard.

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 long after their child is gone.


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musccy
14 years ago
Hard to say that it's a great story given the prognosis for Ryan, but it's still very heartwarming to see the Packers reaching out like this!

I'm going to butcher this story but you'll get the gist...Collins and Bishop helped raise about $9,000 and about 10,000 lbs of food for a local pantry for Thanksgiving recently as well.

Sometimes we joke about Ted going after "Packer people" but when you hear about stories like this, or how Al handled his release, it sure makes you proud to be a fan of this organization and its players/coaches/staff!
Pack93z
14 years ago
Sometimes we all forget how trying life can be.. and how lucky most are for the things they have, or they live in the past and can't see what is right in front of them.

Ryan Grant, that was an outstanding example of the moments athletes can bring if they choose to.. the smallest light in the darkness can mean a ton to the soul searching for it.
"The oranges are dry; the apples are mealy; and the papayas... I don't know what's going on with the papayas!"
Zero2Cool
14 years ago
Very touching story.
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Cheesey
14 years ago
very sweet story.
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Timmons
14 years ago
It is great to see known players take the time to do things like this. There is no reason that we all shouldn't and this is an excellent reminder.
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RajiRoar
14 years ago

Very touching story.

"Zero2Cool" wrote:



my god.

it has feelings!

MintBaconDrivel
Dec, 11, 2012 - FOREVER!
Pack93z
14 years ago
My wish for this child.. is that the some of the Packers do a little something for this kid this weekend in victory.

Off the field: Packers fan Ryan Luxem dies of leukemia 
By Lori Nickel of the Journal Sentinel

Dec. 30, 2010 3:51 p.m. |(46) Comments

It is with great sorrow that I pass along the news that Ryan Luxem died Wednesday of leukemia.

The 11-year-old boy and Packers fan was surprised with a visit from Packers running back Ryan Grant in November. Ryan Luxem was thrilled with this visit and his family enjoyed the respite from their own pain to watch their boy smile at Grant so much.

Ryan, who was rarely without his Packers hat, watched the Packers beat the Giants Sunday and looked for Grant on the sidelines, chest bumping John Kuhn after a touchdown.

Ryan Luxem was at home, surrounded by his family, wearing his Donald Driver jersey, when his difficult, painful and long battle with the disease ended.

I have never had so much feedback from readers as when his story appeared Thanksgiving day. More than 100 people contacted me through twitter or email specifically asking how they could help parents Matt, Amy and the Luxem family financially.

Their friend, Mark Winters, said the family had this suggestion:

The parents ask that a donation be made to either the MACC Fund or Make-A-Wish Foundation on Ryan's behalf. Ryan cared deeply for these two organizations and spent a lot of his time making origami that was then sold in order to raise money. He tried teaching his parents how to make origami in his final weeks of life, so that they could, in turn, teach his younger brother and sister so they could raise more money for the MACC Fund and Make-A-Wish.

Ryan wanted to see childhood cancer cured someday and contributed thousands of dollars via his fundraising efforts towards that goal.

Here are the links to those websites:

MACC Fund.  Midwest Athletes Against Childhood Cancer Inc.

John M. Cary, executive director, explained the ongoing mission of the MACC Fund: "I have been fortunate to do this work for nearly 29 years. I learned very quickly that it never should happen to a child and a family yet still, far too often, it does despite impressive cure rate increases. Unlike most things, it doesn't get easier with time. As a distinguished member of our Scientific Advisory Board told me recently, 'We do research to honor those we have lost.' The MACC Fund will continue to do research to help the other Ryans."

Make-A-Wish  Foundation national.


Make-A-Wish 
Foundation of Wisconsin.

One final note: The family is making final arrangements for Ryan and those will not be publicized here, out of respect for their privacy. Thanks for understanding. Lori


"The oranges are dry; the apples are mealy; and the papayas... I don't know what's going on with the papayas!"
4PackGirl
14 years ago
ok now i'm crying. all i can think about is troy & julie's little mia when i hear these kind of stories & it just tears me apart.
Nonstopdrivel
13 years ago

Dying child's fight inspires Packers' Grant to create lasting legacy 

By Lori Nickel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel lacrossetribune.com | Posted: Wednesday, March 16, 2011 1:00 am

BURLINGTON, Wis. - Ryan Grant was leaving Lambeau Field late last December when he got the message that Ryan Luxem, the 11-year-old Green Bay Packers fan with leukemia, had died.

The news was not unexpected, but somehow that did nothing to lessen the sorrow upon learning it.

Grant thought of how hard Luxem fought to stay alive as long as he did and asked the questions that have no satisfactory answers.

Why him?

How is this right?

How is this fair?

Then, he started thinking.

"He touched me, he brought something to me," Grant said. "And I'm in a position to bring something to others. I needed to do something and I wanted to get others involved, too."

The Packers running back was in Burlington on Tuesday to do just that.

He is creating a scholarship fund in memory of Luxem, and he is getting started in two ways.

First, he surprised the students at Burlington Catholic Central High School with an offer to pay for their junior prom. In exchange, he asked if they would continue their fundraising efforts. Instead of paying for DJs and a banquet hall, the students could raise money for the Luxem scholarship.

Grant then headed to Greenfield, where he rented out the Cool Waters Family Aquatic Park on July 10 for his "Ryan 4 Ryan Celebration." The event will be open to the public. The entrance fees from the day will be donated to the Luxem scholarship.

Besides his time, Grant will be donating $25,000 to $30,000 between these two events; the Luxem scholarship will benefit students at Wilmot High School, where Ryan's mother, Amy, is a teacher.

Grant is expected to bring several teammates and their families to the Cool Waters event. He's also taking his girlfriend to ... the prom. "I never got to go to prom," he explained.

"Ask him if he'll bring the Lombardi Trophy," said Catholic Central senior Zach Guilliams.

Grant told the students he chose Burlington Catholic Central for three reasons: It is close to the Luxem home in Union Grove; his marketing agent, Stacy Jenson, has a niece and nephew, Foote, attending the school; and because Grant went to Catholic schools Don Bosco Prep in New Jersey and the University of Notre Dame and felt comfortable asking another Catholic school for help.

Grant has been busy with promotional events and maintaining his workouts. The ankle he injured in the opener last season has been healthy since before the Super Bowl. And even though the players are locked out in a labor dispute with NFL owners, he's following his usual off-season regimen.

He's even headed to Florida soon, with teammates such as James Jones and Nick Collins, as well as other NFL players, for seven-on-seven work and drills.

Grant is not worried about the labor issue that could affect his comeback.

"I put things in perspective. Japan is trying to keep from literally melting down," he said. "You've got the labor stuff going on in Madison with the budget. By no means am I trying to downplay this. But it will be OK. This needed to happen. Maybe this is necessary for the future of the league.

"The reason why I am so confident that both sides will get something done is because I know both sides want football."

But he hardly talked about football to the students. His speech was all about doing for others. The running back, who had been through a rough year of his own on injured reserve, had met Luxem, one of Green Bay's most loyal fans, in November. And it's hard to say now if that meeting meant more to the child or to the player.

Luxem was the kind of boy who loved his Packers, win or lose. Even when he wasn't feeling well from treatments and hospital visits, he wore his green and gold faithfully. When a family friend reached out and simply asked for an autograph, or maybe a word of encouragement, Grant got on his crutches and in to a car, making the drive from Green Bay to meet Luxem in person.

Grant was one of Luxem's favorite players and he beamed in his presence. Less than three months later, Grant made it his personal mission that "little Ryan" not be forgotten and that, in fact, would have his name on something helpful for someone else.


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Fan Shout
beast (1h) : I was rooting for the Bears to win and hurt their draft pick status
Zero2Cool (1h) : Forgot there was even a game last night haha
TheKanataThrilla (2h) : That was terrible.
TheKanataThrilla (2h) : Watching that game in its entirety yesterday is proof positive that I am a football addict.
beast (2h) : And horrible time management multiple times... and not being able to score more than 3 points on a team with talent
beast (2h) : Realizing the Bears didn't fix it from the previous week and do the same thing, getting the game to overtime
beast (2h) : They probably are not tanking, but they've absolutely mismanagement some things, such as Vikings seeing the Packers blocked FG and realizing
Zero2Cool (3h) : Crazy of Bears to have that mindset that is
Zero2Cool (3h) : Hail Mary stop away from 5 - 2. Not sure how that flips to tanking. Crazy mindset if true
beast (4h) : I've quietly questioned if Bears are tanking on purpose... they suddenly got a lot worse with some simple concepts like 101 clock management
wpr (6h) : Watching bares fans melt down over how putrid their team is, so enjoyable. It's the gift that keeps on giving.
Mucky Tundra (13h) : The Seattle Seahawks defeat the Chicago Bears 6-3. Jason Myers had 6 RBIs for Seattle while Cairo Santos had 3 RBI for Chicago
beast (14h) : Not nessarily, he might of been injured either way. He's playing about 50% of the games the last 4 years
Zero2Cool (20h) : If they'd been more patient with him, he'd be back already. Putting him out there vs Bears caused him to tweak it and here we are.
packerfanoutwest (21h) : well this is his last season with the PAck, book it
beast (22h) : Sounds like no Alexander (again), I'm wondering if his time with the Packers is done
Zero2Cool (26-Dec) : Could ban beast and I still don't think anyone catches him.
Mucky Tundra (26-Dec) : Houston getting dog walked by Baltimore
packerfanoutwest (25-Dec) : Feliz Navidad!
Zero2Cool (25-Dec) : Merry Christmas!
beast (25-Dec) : Merry Christmas 🎄🎁
beast (24-Dec) : Sounds like no serious injuries from the Saints game and Jacobs and Watson should play in the Vikings game
packerfanoutwest (24-Dec) : both games Watson missed, Packers won
Martha Careful (24-Dec) : I hope all of you have a Merry Christmas!
Mucky Tundra (24-Dec) : Oh I know about Jacobs, I just couldn't pass up an opportunity to mimic Zero lol
buckeyepackfan (24-Dec) : Jacobs was just sat down, Watson re-injured that knee that kept him out 1 game earlier
buckeyepackfan (24-Dec) : I needed .14 that's. .14 points for the whole 4th quarter to win and go to the SB. Lol
Mucky Tundra (24-Dec) : Jacobs gonna be OK???
Zero2Cool (24-Dec) : Watson gonna be OK???
packerfanoutwest (24-Dec) : Inactives tonight for the Pack: Alexander- knee Bullard - ankle Williams - quad Walker -ankle Monk Heath
packerfanoutwest (24-Dec) : No Jaire, but hopefully the front 7 destroys the line of scrimmage & forces Rattler into a few passes to McKinney.
packerfanoutwest (24-Dec) : minny could be #1 seed and the Lions #5 seed
Zero2Cool (23-Dec) : We'd have same Division and Conference records. Strength of schedule we edge them
Zero2Cool (23-Dec) : I just checked. What tie breaker?
bboystyle (23-Dec) : yes its possible but unlikely. If we do get the 5th, we face the NFCS winner
Zero2Cool (23-Dec) : Ahh, ok.
bboystyle (23-Dec) : yes due to tie breaker
Zero2Cool (23-Dec) : I mean, unlikely, yes, but mathematically, 5th is possible by what I'm reading.
Zero2Cool (23-Dec) : If Vikings lose out, Packers win out, Packers get 5th, right?
bboystyle (23-Dec) : Minny isnt going to lose out so 5th seed is out of the equation. We are playing for the 6th or 7th seed which makes no difference
Mucky Tundra (23-Dec) : beast, the ad revenue goes to the broadcast company but they gotta pay to air the game on their channel/network
beast (23-Dec) : If we win tonight the game is still relative in terms of 5th, 6th or 7th seed... win and it's 5th or 6th, lose and it's 6th or 7th
beast (23-Dec) : Mucky, I thought the ad revenue went to the broadcasting companies or the NFL, at least not directly
Zero2Cool (23-Dec) : I think the revenue share is moot, isn't it? That's the CBA an Salary Cap handling that.
bboystyle (23-Dec) : i mean game becomes irrelevant if we win tonight. Just a game where we are trying to play spoilers to Vikings chance at the #1 seed
Mucky Tundra (23-Dec) : beast, I would guess ad revenue from more eyes watching tv
Zero2Cool (23-Dec) : I would think it would hurt the home team because people would have to cancel last minute maybe? i dunno
beast (23-Dec) : I agree that it's BS for fans planning on going to the game. But how does it bring in more money? I'm guessing indirectly?
packerfanoutwest (23-Dec) : bs on flexing the game....they do it for the $$league$$, not the hometown fans
Zero2Cool (23-Dec) : I see what you did there Mucky
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