Patient at Stanford’s Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital gets a Super Bowl surprise

ALEX WALTER, 18, has been a Denver Broncos fan for a long time. His mom, Ronda, says it might have something to do with spending the first several years of his life in the Mile-High City, where Alex underwent treatment for his congenital heart disease, which included several surgeries. Alex came to Packard Children’s at age five and received a heart transplant when he was 11.

Now, his heart is doing well. But, unrelated to his CHD, Alex, a Montana native, was diagnosed at 17 with rhabdomyosarcoma, a soft tissue cancer. He’s been at the hospital since March for chemotherapy and radiation treatment at the Bass Childhood Cancer Center. The treatments leave Alex with little energy, but he is “relentlessly positive,” as mom puts it. He and Ronda are living at the Ronald McDonald House at Stanford.

As Super Bowl 50 excitement grew, the hospital staff learned that Alex’s dream was to meet his beloved Broncos, who have been practicing on campus this week. The staff posted a note about Alex on Packard Children’s Facebook page. The effort paid off with thousands of “Likes” and “Shares” and a surprise visit from VERNON DAVIS, a former San Francisco 49er, who will be playing for the Broncos in the Super Bowl on Sunday.

Read the full post on the Packard Children’s website.