Bengals defensive tackle Devon Still would have liked to have won a football game last night.
But what he got to experience was so much bigger.
Still’s 4-year-old daughter Leah was on hand for last night’s loss to the Browns, as the Bengals presented a check for nearly $1.4 million to Cincinnati Children’s Hospital to benefit pediatric cancer research. The money was raised through sales of her father’s jersey, as her fight with cancer became public earlier this year.
“It was like a rollercoaster of emotions,” Devon Still said, via Richard Skinner of the Cincinnati Enquirer. “Every time I was able to see my daughter – in pre-game (looking down from a suite), or to see her come down on the field when they presented the check – it was good emotions. We definitely wanted to go out there and win that game. That would have been the cherry on top of everything.”
Leah is going back home to Philadelphia this weekend, and she’ll begin radiation treatment next week. Her father will be there for the start of it, and he said he’s amazed at her courage through the process.
“You never think that your child would face a battle like this,” said Still. “The strength that my daughter has shown me, the courage that she has shown me, is nothing short of inspirational. She’s allowed me to go out and meet a lot kids that are dealing with the same thing. Being surrounded by those kids you just get a different outlook on life. I am very proud of my daughter and the amount of awareness that she has raised for pediatric cancer and the funds that she’s raised for pediatric cancer. She thinks she’s a movie star. She’s handled the whole ordeal tremendously. I never expect a four-year-old to be able to go through this and be able to understand what she’s going through and be able to put a smile on her face.”
And while the result of the game might not have, the lasting images from last night did, for many people.
