Video: Amon-Ra St. Brown, Anthony Pittman share special moment with Lions fan, cancer survivor

On Monday afternoon, a video involving Detroit Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown went viral. In it, St. Brown is sharing an intimate conversation with a young Lions fan named Lucas, who was recently diagnosed with cancer. In the video, St. Brown, who is Lucas’ favorite player, spends a long time with Lucas, signing his St. Brown jersey, taking a photo with him, and then offering some inspiring words before he goes back to taking the field.

“All right, Lucas. Take care, man. You got it. Nothing can stop you, alright?” St. Brown says.

At that point in time, Lucas can’t hold back the emotion of the moment and has to wipe the tears from his face. The inspirational conversation was caught by NFL Films crew. Check it out.

But that’s not where the story ends. After the game, St. Brown wanted to go a step further. He reached out on Twitter to see if anyone could find Lucas so that he could send him an autographed game jersey. Lucas’ dad, David Gidelski, quickly responded on Twitter.

“Lucas is my son and that’s all he keeps talking about is his conversation w(ith) you and it made his year so thank(s)!”

A special moment like this doesn’t happen without some helpful people behind the scenes, and those people deserve a shoutout: Lions linebacker Anthony Pittman, Lions Manager of Player and Alumni Relations Maurice Pearson, and Ryan Newcom.

Newcom is Lucas’ cousin, and he also happens to be a former teammate of Pittman’s from their days at Wayne State. Newcom reached out to Pittman, hoping to create a special day for Lucas—whose Lions-loving family grew up in metro Detroit but now reside in Chicago. The team’s road trip to face the Bears provided a perfect opportunity to create a memory Lucas would never forget.

So Pittman reached out to Pearson, and not only did the Lions score Lucas sideline passes for the game, but they also sent him a hefty care package, including a football signed by many Lions players and Pittman’s autographed cleats.

Lucas shared his appreciation for both St. Brown and Pittman on Instagram Monday.

“Thank you for all the love,” Lucas captioned his picture with St. Brown.

In another post with Pittman directly tagged, Lucas wrote, “thank you the most for this experience. You are the reason I was able to have this day. You are amazing!”

What an awesome encounter thanks to some awesome people.

We reached out to David Gidelski, Lucas’ father, who shared this update on Lucas:

“His diagnosis is T-Cell lymphoblastic lymphoma. He has a tiny bit in his bone marrow so they are treating for leukemia also. we are 3.5 weeks in. His legs and arms are very weak from the medications. We continue to try to get all his levels right as this all aids in his body functions. He goes for treatment on Mondays and gets very tired the few days after that. He is having a hard time going from a sitting position to a standing position and is currently using a walker to help him get around. He has lost a lot of muscle mass already as he went from being a QB on his freshman football team and playing without hesitation the Monday before his diagnosis to just sitting around and not being able to do much. He’s an athlete and having to sit around so much is really hard on him. We will get there though. The first month is so difficult bc he is on an aggressive steroid. Hopefully that ends in December. His spirits are high right now with all the support and love so that helps a ton.’

We’ll all be thinking of you, Lucas. And go Lions!