Rival Basketball Teams Put Differences Aside for Little Boy
As college rivalries go, it doesn’t get more heated than the one between the University of Michigan and Ohio State. But this week, the coaches and staffs of both schools’ basketball teams united in the name of something more important than sports: raising the spirits of a terminally ill 5-year-old.
Chad Carr is the grandson of Michigan’s legendary former football coach Lloyd Carr. The boy’s father is a former UM quarterback, and his other grandfather was a UM safety. To say the Wolverines are the family mascot would be an understatement. But far greater than the Carrs’ loyalty to blue and gold is their dedication to Chad, who was diagnosed with diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG), a rare, inoperable tumor in his brain stem, in September 2014.
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Chad Carr, in his University of Michigan gear, with his brother. (Photo: Facebook/Pray for Chad Carr)
On Wednesday morning, Chad’s parents announced on the Pray for Chad Carr Facebook page that after more than a year of fighting — Chad was originally given about nine months to live — they’ve decided to put their son in hospice care. “His breathing and swallowing have been getting worse not better, he can no longer walk and his speech is sporadic. We kept waiting to see improvement, kept waiting to see things turning around, but the reality is that they aren’t,” Chad’s mother, Tammi Carr, wrote. “Now we believe it’s time to stop fighting and to let him relax and be at peace. We are still praying for a miracle because we know the power of God and it is infinite. But we are also praying that if it is God’s will to take him home, that he not suffer. This is so very hard, but it is also hard watching your baby with such extreme limitations. … We want him to be whole and well.” The post got more than 3,000 comments extending support and sympathy for the Carr family.
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The basketball coaches and staffs of the University of Michigan and Ohio State organized this Christmas light display at Chad Carr’s house. (Photo: Facebook/Pray for Chad Carr)
Later that afternoon, Tammi posted a photo of her house covered in Christmas lights. In the caption, she wrote: “Wow! Special thanks to the Michigan men’s basketball coaches and staff and the Ohio State men’s basketball team’s coaches and staff. They came together to do this for Chad. Amazing!!!! Love and thanks to you all!! Bigger than the rivalry!!” According to the Detroit Free Press, the coaches and staff of both teams pitched in their own money to hire a company to light up the Carr house for an early Christmas. The photo of the decorated house has received more than 15,000 likes and more than 2,000 shares. “More beautiful than the lights is the men that put rivalry aside to do this for such an awesome little boy!!” wrote one commenter. “I am a Wolverine and a really good friend is a Buckeye. Tonight we are both proud of both schools. Pray for Chad,” wrote another.
The Carrs have built a supportive community for Chad through the hashtag #ChadTough and their Facebook page, which has more than 32,000 likes. They also have a GoFundMe page, which was originally intended “to help Chad with treatments that are not covered by insurance as well as to assist with any unforeseen costs that the family runs up against during this battle,” the website reads. “It is [the family’s] hope and prayer that Chad can be cancer free and in turn, would love nothing more than to donate all of the funds to the Chad Tough Fund to support pediatric brain cancer research at Mott Children’s Hospital at the University of Michigan.” That page has raised more than $39,000 thus far.
The Christmas lights were just the beginning of the Carrs’ holiday celebration. On Friday morning, Tammi posted a picture of Chad baking in the kitchen. “Today is Christmas Eve at our house,” she writes. “Chad is already busy making his kind of cookies.”
Yesterday, Tammi posted that her “tough little guy” is “still having fun.” Everyone can agree that that’s the most important thing — regardless of your Big Ten loyalties.
(Top photo: Facebook/Pray for Chad Carr)
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