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EAST RUTHERFORD − Giuseppe Maneiro woke up Wednesday morning more famous than he could have ever imagined.
There were dozens of texts waiting on his mother’s cell phone. Shocked reactions to seeing 5-year-old Giuseppe − dressed as Gizmo from the movie “Gremlins” − interacting with New York Giants rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart – dressed as Superman – as part of a Halloween party for Tackle Kids Cancer at Joseph M. Sanzari Children’s Hospital in Hackensack on Tuesday.
The images went viral on social media, shared by the NFL’s official Instagram account that has 31.9 million followers. Dart has quickly become one of the most popular players in the NFL, but in these parts, he’s got nothing on the Giants‘ youngest MVP − their Most Valiant Patient.
“We saw a news place in Brazil posted [the photo and video],” Millisa Maneiro, Giuseppe’s mom, told NorthJersey.com and The Record via text early Wednesday, while adding with a laugh: “Now who’s going to get us a house with all this fame?”
What the Maneiro family never anticipated is the home they have come to cherish with the Giants.
This is the story of Giuseppe Maneiro, one that will both warm and break hearts, depending on the perspective of the day. How a 5-year-old from Lyndhurst, New Jersey, whose battle with leukemia has inspired an entire team, most notably Giants tight end Daniel Bellinger, and it all started with the gift of a “GIUSEPPE STRONG” bracelet − and the “Big Unc, Lil Nef” bond that grew from there.
It’s about a professional football player and a team in the Giants that has found a purpose in providing these thrills to a kindergartner whose fight to live represents so much more than football.
“I look through all the photos we’ve taken since going to the Giants for the first time, and I get emotional just thinking about where we are now,” Millisa said.
“No matter what Giuseppe is going through, no matter what we are going through as a family, the smiles are real. The Giants have become Giuseppe’s family and the impact they’ve had on a little 5-year-old is incredible.”
Giuseppe Maneiro and Giants’ Daniel Bellinger: A love match
The Giants’ offseason program had ended days earlier in late June, so the players were free to head out for what is always an abbreviated summer vacation. Bellinger stayed here in North Jersey and decided to come to the training facility to work out.
That same day, Giuseppe joined a group of children invited by the Tom Coughlin Jay Fund to tour the building, check out the field house and play some games as part of an experience to lift their spirits.
Tara Belinsky, the Giants’ manager of youth community relations, swung by the locker room to see if any players were there. Bellinger had just finished his workout, and Belinsky asked if he had a few minutes to bring the kids to the weight room and show them around.
“I’m not a super social guy, I’m more of a keep-to-myself person,” Bellinger said with a laugh. “But then I met Giuseppe, and there was something about this kid, to go through what he was going through, just to see his smile through his fight, the impact that can have on you is indescribable.”
Back in March, Giuseppe was diagnosed with B-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia and immediately began chemotherapy treatments at Hackensack Meridian Health, which continue to this day.
“Mom, do you think I can give him one?” Giuseppe innocently asked Millisa, pointing to the yellow-orange “GIUSEPPE STRONG” bracelets in his hand while gesturing to Bellinger in the middle of the Giants’ weight room.
“Wanting to give that to me, it meant a lot,” Bellinger said. “Really just hit me, and I kept it on, didn’t even think about taking it off.”
Fast forward to late July, and Laura Maneiro, Millisa’s daughter and Giuseppe’s older sister, was flipping through photos from the first days of Giants training camp when something caught her attention.
There was one of Bellinger catching a pass in practice, the “GIUSEPPE STRONG” bracelet still on his wrist.
“You’ve got a 5-year-old you just met giving you a bracelet, and most people, quite honestly, say, ‘Oh, that’s cute,’ and then kind of take it off, toss it to the side when they get home, and don’t think anything of it,” Millisa said.
“To see Bellinger wearing that a month later in pictures, it’s so touching, it really hits you that this was genuine. Wasn’t for publicity or show. We met him once, my daughter’s like, ‘Mom, look!’ And Giuseppe was like, ‘Hey, that’s my bracelet!'”
Bellinger invited Giuseppe, Millisa and the family to camp later that week, and the Giants rallied around the young fan with the blue No. 10 jersey, ‘Maneiro’ on the back.
Not long after, Giuseppe traded that one for No. 82 − Bellinger’s jersey − and he wears that every Sunday with a yellow bow tie for pediatric cancer awareness. That’s his uniform, a salute from the boy Bellinger refers to as his nephew (Lil Nef) from the 25-year-old Giuseppe calls his uncle (Big Unc).
“They have the sweetest connection,” Millisa said. “And it was just by chance.”
Talk to Bellinger, though, and he’s come to believe his bond with Giuseppe was the product of fate.
Which brings us back to Tuesday’s Halloween party where Giuseppe and his friends from Tackle Kids Cancer got to interact with Dart and the Giants’ rookies, who made their annual costumed visit.
“He’s so strong, battling every day and loving life,” Dart shared with NorthJersey.com and The Record after his post-practice interview session Wednesday, his own “GIUSEPPE STRONG” bracelet dangling from his left wrist. “I got to see him do the “Sexy Dexy” dance [for Giants teammate Dexter Lawrence]. He knows all about the games, all about the players. He’s asking questions, and I just think that’s super cool. You can really feel a welcoming and warming energy when you’re around that.”
Millisa may have been only half-kidding about her family’s search for a house, but the reality is this: any money the Maneiros were putting away for that reason became a fund for whatever expenses were about to come their way no matter the extent of treatments Giuseppe would need to cure his disease.
As part of the NFL’s “My Cause, My Cleats” initiative next month, Bellinger opted to support Giuseppe and pediatric cancer awareness. And there was a really cool catch: Big Unc asked Lil Nef to design them, and he did, with the final design revealed in advance of the game.
“It’s hard to put into words and describe what seeing Giuseppe’s smile does, and the message it sends to all of us, especially me,” Bellinger said. “I know what he’s going through. You talk about toughness and being resilient, just watch that kid fight. He’s a Giant, man. There’s no other way to put it.”
Giuseppe the Giant has already written a heck of a story, and there’s more to come, one smile at a time.