LETTERS: RAMS KICKER HELPS YOUNG PATIENT

To the editor:

A members of the board of directors of the Southeast Missouri Chapter of the American Diabetes Association in Cape Girardeau has a 9-year-old son who was recently diagnosed with cancer. He was brought to Cardinal Glennon Hospital in St. Louis for further tests and results. The family decided that some fun was called for, and they took him to the Rams game.

More bad news was delivered the next day with a third site diagnosed as cancerous. Surgery was scheduled for noon the following day. At 11:30 a.m. on the day of the surgery, Rams kicker Jeff Wilkins appeared and showed Nathan Wibbenmeyer how to kick a football through the uprights.

A lot of friends and phone calls generated this miracle. Nathan had been really scared before surgery until Jeff came in. Nathan was then so excited that he forgot to be afraid.

It is the firm belief of myself, the ADA Gateway Region and the Southeast Missouri Chapter that the St. Louis Rams deserve a lot more than just a Super Bowl win. They deserve recognition for this and for all they do for our community. Thank you, Jeff Wilkins, Georgie Frontiere, John Shaw and Marci Moran for this outstanding gesture, and may all of your kicks be through the uprights.

To all Cape residents, please keep Nathan and his family in your prayers.

PATRICIA R. HEDERMAN-HEISSE, Community Development Specialist

American Diabetes Association

St. Louis