Anthony Rizzo steps up after cancer patient's picture of Cubs star goes missing
A 12-year-old brain cancer patient was devastated Friday when she realized that her autographed picture of Chicago Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo had gone missing.
Rizzo was upset when he heard the news, as well. So he stepped in to fix it.
According to a story in the Chicago Sun-Times, Rizzo sent Abby Schrage an autographed jersey and new photo to hang in her room at St. Louis Children’s Hospital. The package was due to arrive on Wednesday morning, and her mother, Jill, told the newspaper Tuesday night that she would try to keep the news a secret to surprise Abby.
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“That is so incredibly sweet of him,” Jill Schrage told the Sun-Times. “It just makes me think even higher (of him). I’m amazed our story reached him and that he took the time to reach out to us. … He’s just trying to put a smile back on our girl’s face.”
The surprise worked. You can watch Abby's reaction to receiving the jersey and photo here.
The Schrage family has also been given tickets to the Cubs' 2018 season opener, according to the newspaper.
Abby first received a photo of Rizzo in June, accompanied by a letter from the three-time All-Star. She is fighting brain cancer for the second time after being diagnosed with two brain tumors in 2016.
Abby’s fight resonated with Rizzo because he too has battled cancer; he was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 2008 and underwent sixth months of chemotherapy. The 28-year-old has since founded a non-profit organization, The Anthony Rizzo Family Foundation, to raise money for cancer research and support children fighting the disease. He donated $3.5 million to Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago two months ago.
"I remember sitting with my mom saying we're gonna do this 10 years ago,” Rizzo said, according to NBC Sports Chicago. “This is just a little step to our mission."
Contact Tom Schad at tschad@gannett.com or on Twitter @Tom_Schad.
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