John Wall helps young fan with cancer meet Nicki Minaj, makes 'pink wig' wish come true (Photos)
Three weeks ago, Washington Wizards point guard John Wall set about helping a young girl named Damiyah Telemaque-Nelson — "Miyah," to her friends — make a very specific wish come true:
As Dan Steinberg of the D.C. Sports Blog reported, Telemaque-Nelson, 5, has Burkitt lymphoma, a fast-growing form of cancer that has led to months of chemotherapy, dialysis, spinal taps and other forms of treatment at Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, D.C. She wanted to meet hip-hop/pop star Nicki Minaj, and to wear one of the platinum-selling performer's signature pink wigs, so her mom started pounding the social-media pavement to spread the word about her daughter's plight; eventually someone showed Wall a Facebook post detailing Miyah's wish, and Wall "brought Miyah’s tale to the team’s community relations staffers," as Steinberg wrote.
Wall's Instagram video quickly got Minaj's attention:
Hi Miyah!!!! Let's see what we can come up with for a pretty little princess. ;) http://t.co/vfPiHtIs6U
— Nicki Minaj (@NICKIMINAJ) March 7, 2014
And on Sunday, it seems, "Operation #HelpMiyahMeetNicki" became a full-on success:
In exchange for the pink wig she gave young Miyah, Minaj got something in return — an autographed John Wall Wizards jersey as a token of his appreciation for the recording artist's assist:
(There are more shots of Nicki and Miyah together on Minaj's Instagram page, if you'd like to check them out.)
Wall himself wasn't on the scene for the meeting, but he thanked Minaj via Twitter for helping him make something amazing happen for a young girl who's got a tough road ahead of her. More from Steinberg:
“I had an opportunity with my celebrity status, knowing people that know people, to help this girl’s dream come true,” he said in a telephone interview from Milwaukee. “I knew [Minaj] had a caring heart, and when she had an opportunity to see it or read about it, I knew she’d reach out as soon as she could. I just thank my fans, everybody who retweeted it and reposted it, to give me the opportunity to make this girl’s wish come true. And we’ll try to make it happen.” [...]
“You never want to miss an opportunity to put a smile on a kid’s face.”
Consider this opportunity seized. Cool stuff, John Wall, Nicki Minaj, the Washington Wizards and everyone else involved.
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