SARASOTA, Fla. (WWSB) – The Tampa Bay Buccaneers partnered with a local Sarasota foundation Monday to give a young cancer patient a thrill of a lifetime.
The Bucs teamed up with Casting for the Kids to host 15-year-old Isaiah Etienne in a behind-the-scenes experience. Isaiah got to meet some of his heroes and explore the Bucs’ training facility.
Isaiah is facing a relapse in his battle against stage 4 neuroblastoma. The cancer has now spread to his lungs and spinal cord but Isaiah feels more motivated than ever to beat his cancer and fulfill his dreams of being a football player.
“Imagine I was one of those players and a kid is this happy to see me,” he said.
Brian Ford, the chief operating officer of the Bucs, took Isaiah and his family on a tour of the training facility. “They’re going through what they’re going through to be able to help others and that’s what I try to remind Isaiah, and he’s a very sharp, courageous young man,” Ford said.
Isaiah got the opportunity to meet players he looks up to such as Baker Mayfield and Chris Godwin and soon learned how much of an inspiration he was to them.
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