Posted on 02/04/2008 12:41:06 PM PST by JZelle
The magical tale of the hockey hero and the sick little boy came to an end on a warm spring day in Detroit in 2006. Braxton Davis, the sick little boy, stood silently inside the Red Wings' locker room as the players streamed out, the day before a first-round game against Edmonton. The room was empty, save for one man, Steve Yzerman, who lingered in khakis and a long-sleeved shirt. The Captain, holding a stick in his hand, walked over to Braxton. The boy reached up, took the stick, held it tight. He looked so happy, so blissfully unaware. Maybe Yzerman's friendship with the 11-year-old, a relationship forged five years earlier, was one reason the boy had lived this long. And maybe, in the boy's final moments, he'd hold on to this memory the way he grasped the stick.
Whatever the case, though, this was the end. And Yzerman would not see Braxton Davis again.
The incredible tale of the hockey hero and the sick little boy began with another hockey stick. It was a Vic, made of wood and no longer than a man's arm. Brant Davis says he gave his son that stick soon after he was born, in March 1995. The boy, Braxton, looked just like his dad, round face and big cheeks, dark blond hair and wide eyes. But in those wide eyes was a problem: Braxton's pupils were different sizes. For months, doctors ran all kinds of tests, until they delivered terrifying results. Braxton had neuroblastoma, cancer of the nerves. Babies are one of the only things a human can create, Brant thought, and I did it wrong. He says he cringed as he pulled the Vic from Braxton as nurses wheeled the 9-month-old to surgery.
(Excerpt) Read more at sports.espn.go.com ...
Wow. Parents who do stuff like this to their kids get me so angry.
And if nothing else, this whole sordid mess really does show what a class guy Yzerman is, especially his response to it once he found out that the dad was lying.
}:-)4
Just like the "Mother" who had her child lie and write an essay about how her father died in Iraq to get tickets to a Hanna Montana concert. Sick, sick, people...
And if nothing else, this whole sordid mess really does show what a class guy Yzerman is, especially his response to it once he found out that the dad was lying. }:-)4
Yzerman is indeed a classy guy.
There’s no ‘I’ in Steve Yzerman, the ultimate role model for class and leadership. Quite a breath of fresh air in this era of spoiled egomaniacal athletes.
Hockey ping.
This is just disgusting. As much as I loathe the Wings, I always liked Yzerman. He jut always seemed like a great person and it’s a shame that someone manipulated that.
Hockey ping!
Steve Yzerman - This Avs fan thinks there has never been a professional athlete with more class than Steve Yzerman.
The father in this story should be keel-hauled, and then banned in hockey rinks from coast to coast.
Freep mail/ping airborne or Hat-Trick or G8 Diplomat if you want on or off the Hockey Ping List.
Yzerman is a class act.
Thanks for the ping
yes thanks for the ping...my prized possession is a photo of Yzerman during the 98 victory parade.
The only non-Flyers’ jersey I ever owned was Steve Yzerman and that goes back to around 1984.
And Stevie Y. handled it better than another NHL player might have.
An inspirational man indeed.
Mr Y is a class act and a great role model.
I feel very sorry for this poor child who will have to live with the horrible things his father did in his name.
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