Philadelphia Eagles fans were touched by the story of Carson Wentz and his impact on the life of Lukas Kusters, lovingly known as the Dutch Destroyer.
But while so many fans were moved by the emotional piece that aired on ESPN last October after Lukas lost his battle in June of 2017, another boy's life may have literally been saved because of it.
ESPN's Tim McManus wrote today about the story of little Max Shott and his family of Eagles fans, particularly Max's father Jerry who is "an Eagles fan right out of central casting." Max got a chance to meet Wentz at an Eagles practice over the summer and even caught some passes from his new favorite player. You can see those special moments in the below video.
The story of how Max ended up at the NovaCare Complex that day and how Wentz became his favorite player is remarkable.
Max's father Jerry's Eagles fandom proved invaluable. Like so many of us, Jerry watched the ESPN segment on Carson and the Dutch Destroyer last fall but something about it hit extra close to home for him and his family, as McManus writes:
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"Lukas' mom was talking about her son, the signs of his stomach being big and pain in his stomach, and right away I looked at Max's stomach," he said. "Watching his mom talk about the stomach, I knew instantly something was wrong with him."
Lukas' story spurred Max's family into action. The Dutch Destroyer piece aired Oct. 23, before the Eagles' Monday Night Football game against the Washington Redskins. On Oct. 30, Max was diagnosed with leukemia.
What followed was a harrowing time for the Shott family with weeks spent in the hospital and many medical procedures. But the early detection ultimately proved vital to the success of the treatment.
"If I hadn't seen that story," Jerry told ESPN, "he probably wouldn't be here right now, and that's the truth."
Little Max is still fighting and undergoing treatment today, including chemotherapy, but he's made some new friends along the way. He can count Carson Wentz and Lukas' Kusters family among them. For more on the remarkable story, the entire story is worth your time.
