Earlier this summer, Devon Stills, a player for the Cincinnati Bengals, decided that he was giving up his NFL career because the love of his life, his 4-year-old daughter, Leah, was diagnosed with stage 4 Cancer.
Leah underwent chemotherapy, after she was diagnosed with neuroblastoma, and lost all of her hair. Still shaved his head, pledging that he would not let his grow back until his daughter’s hair began growing back. He recently started a pldgit.com campaign to raise money for medical research and for the parents of children with cancer.
Still told Delaware Online, “When I found out, I told my family I was done. Done. I didn’t feel comfortable leaving my daughter while she’s going through this. She’s fighting for her life. Sports is not more important than me being there while my daughter is fighting for her life.”
He recently decided to re-join the Bengals for a third season, mainly because one of the best neuroblastoma surgeons in the country is actually in Cincinnati. His daughter and her mother are moving to Cincinnati. Of course, Still is dedicating this season to his daughter.
According to Delaware Online, Still says, “She’s still in high spirits; she kind of motivates us.” He continues, “She’s kind of our strength in this. As long as she fights hard we have no reason to complain. We go to the hospital and there are hundreds other kids with the same thing, so we try as much as possible not to whine about it because we understand we’re not the only family going through it. We’re just trying to hold it together as long as possible.”
To read more, visit Delaware Online.
