A high school athlete in Iowa played the entire football season without knowing he had leukemia, WMUR9 reported.
“I was speechless because I have always been a really healthy kid. I have never been in the hospital before,” said athlete Brooks Trom, WMUR9 reported. (RELATED: Texas Guard Andrew Jones Reportedly Cleared For Basketball Activities After Beating Leukemia)
“This week, one by one, each teammate buzzed his hair before Brooks loses his own, ‘We wanted to show support that he wasn’t in the fight alone.” Joe Franey, Basketball Coach at @MSTM_BlueDevils https://t.co/ujD9WwmAp6
— Positive Coaching Alliance (@PositiveCoachUS) December 9, 2020
When football season ended, Brooks received treatment for leukemia instead of playing basketball, WMUR9 reported.
Joe Franey, Brooks’ basketball coach, organized a surprise in which Brooks’ teammates and half the town showed up to see the cancer patient outside of Blank Children’s Hospital in Des Moines, Iowa, the outlet reported.
“We organized with his parents that we would come up and they would bring him down to the main doors, and we would all stand out there and wave,” Franey said to WMUR9. “He is our comedy relief in practices. That’s the part we really miss because he provided the humor.”
“I have been buddies with these guys since I was in preschool,” Trom said to WMUR9. “They are basically my family. When I saw them there I could tell they were very emotional, too,” Brooks said to WMUR9. “It’s just unreal. I don’t even know how to describe it. I am just kind of speechless.”