March Madness to March Gladness

How is your basketball team doing in the March Madness Basketball Tournament? No one won the $1 billion Warren Buffet bracket challenge by surviving the first round of the NCAA tournament. If you are like me, your favorite team is no longer playing. But I have a reason to cheer for another team.

The friendship between Michigan State basketball star Adeian Payne and 8-year-old Lacey Holsworth began two years ago when the Spartans visited a hospital where Lacey was getting treatment for neuroblastoma, an aggressive cancer of the nerve tissue. She couldn’t walk, paralyzed from a massive tumor around her spine and abdomen. But Payne couldn’t get over her amazing optimism.

The Lansing State Journal reported that their heartfelt relationship is much more than simply a star athlete befriending a sick child because it’s a nice thing to do. It’s indicative of self-awareness; Payne grasping a perspective that every single moment is precious. Anything can be taken away at any time.

While others consider college a spin through a revolving door, Payne gained a depth through four years of challenges and obstacles that made him a better player. But what Payne is proudest of is that these four years made him a better person with a stronger character. Such recognition often eludes the high-profile athlete who defines personal growth as an improved jump shot.

Payne can appreciate hardship better than most. His mother died in his arms following a severe asthmatic attack with Payne desperately trying to find her inhaler. He was 13. His grandmother became his legal guardian. She died two years ago from respiratory failure due to asthma complications. He struggled with breathing issues during his freshman year. His lungs were smaller than normal for a 7-foot frame. He couldn’t play long minutes without gasping for air. As a result, he learned how to take shorter breaths.

“It can’t be all about you,” Payne said. “I think that’s one thing I’ve learned now that I probably didn’t know as a freshman. That’s true with your teammates. What can you do to help make them better?

“She calls me her ‘Superman,’ but she’s the one who’s got the super strength,” Payne said. “She’s incredible with everything she’s gone through. (Doctors) told her she wouldn’t walk again. But she did. She’s just an incredible fighter. And if I can bring her a little bit of happiness to help her forget everything for a little while, then that’s what I want to do.”

Lacey’s cancer was thought to have been beaten last summer. But it returned last fall.

“She’s an inspiration for all of us,” guard Gary Harris said. “We get upset and depressed when we lose games or aren’t playing well. And then you realize what Lacey’s going through and how she always has a smile on her face when you see her.”

Watch the video here.

In the grocery store parking lot I saw an older woman loading groceries into the backseat of her car with slow labored movements. Today’s gift was to ask the woman if I could help her by returning her shopping cart to the corral. She and I probably won’t develop a friendship like Adein and Lacy, but I got just a hint of the feeling of brightening someone’s day—from March Madness to March Gladness.

In Giving,

Robin