Kansas City Star: A girl with a brain tumor gave Patrick Mahomes a bracelet. He wears it during games
By Sam McDowell
Ten-year old Whitney Wells has her good days and bad, afternoons in which her bubbly, amusing personality comes to life and some in which she can hardly move.
Five months ago, doctors discovered a tumor in her brain stem, diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG) in medical terminology. The prognosis, to be frank, is bleak.
“We’re trying to give her as many experiences as we can,” her father, Scott, said. “Anything to make the day better.”
In August, the Wells family, residents of St. Joseph, drove over to Chiefs training camp. They met quarterback Patrick Mahomes, tight end Travis Kelce, wide receiver Sammy Watkins and head coach Andy Reid. Scott remarked at their down-to-earth nature.
At some point during their conversation after a practice, the family provided players with a fundraising bracelet featuring their catch phrase through Whitney’s fight.
You got this!
Whitney celebrated her 10th birthday on May 8. That’s when Scott and his wife, Tara, initially noticed something seemed off. Whitney’s facial expressions were abnormal. She wasn’t smiling or laughing. And she bounced off a doorway rather than gliding through it.
Children’s Mercy Hospital doctors discovered the brain stem tumor. DIPG has no cure. Recently, Whitney saw a specialist in Cincinnati and began taking a recommended trial drug. Next week, she will return for an MRI to decipher its effectiveness.
And now she feels an ongoing connection with Kansas City’s star quarterback. As Mahomes lay on the grass Thursday following his knee injury in Denver, the blue wristband popped into the middle of the scene captured by the national TV cameras.
Mahomes isn’t expected to play Sunday, the knee injury sidelining him indefinitely. But he figures to be shown on the TV cameras often. The Wells family will be watching, hoping to see a reminder of their daughter’s fight. And if and when they do, Tara has a habit of saying it out loud.
You got this!
Read the full story via the Kansas City Star
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