Vikings Stefon Diggs Makes Surprise Visit To Children’s Hospital

  |  
Dec 5, 2017
Stefon Diggs with Jack and his family at U of M Masonic Children's Hospital

Stefon Diggs delivered a clutch performance in the spirit of the holidays.

On Tuesday morning Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Stefon Diggs made a sunny day even brighter for two young patients at the University of Minnesota Masonic Children’s Hospital in Minneapolis.

Diggs made a special visit to Jack, a bright 13-year-old that is battling cancer for the second time.

In the hospital room along with Jack were his parents and two brothers. The family of five welcomed the receiver with open arms. The bunch connected effortlessly, chatting with Diggs about how loud Jack screams on Sundays, brotherly love, and Jack’s updated Christmas list.

“Everybody likes presents, right?” asked Diggs.

“Yeah — unless they’re bad presents,” replied Drew, one of Jack’s brothers.

The entire room burst into laughter.

Diggs, who has three brothers himself, gifted Jack a CenturyLink BoostBox. Prizes inside included jerseys (No. 14 of course), winter beanies, gloves, an iPad, autographed cheerleader photo cards, and even game tickets to the upcoming home game against the Bengals. Jack also received an XBox One S console.

As Diggs passed out the Vikings jerseys, he directed a comment towards Drew.

“Is that a bad present?” Diggs joked.

Drew smiled. “No.”

Despite the icy conditions outside, the whimsical moment captured the warm atmosphere inside the room.

Diggs later signed Jack’s Vikings license plate, which included autographs from Marcus Sherels, Kyle Rudolph and Michael Floyd.

“We’ve all been through a tough time,” Diggs said. “The first people that you lean on is your family because you’ve been with them your whole life.”

Before he left, Diggs thanked Jack and his family for allowing him to visit, hugged them, and told them he’d like to come back.

After hanging out with Jack, Diggs surprised another young patient.

Dante, 16, was diagnosed with cancer over Thanksgiving weekend.

He thought he was coming in for his first check up. Instead, he was completely shocked when he walked into a conference room packed with media, the Vikings mascot (Viktor the Viking), cheerleaders, gifts, and Diggs.

The glow in Dante’s eyes lit up the room. His wide-eyed stare turned into a jubilant smile when he realized who was standing in front of him.

“How are you guys doing?” Diggs asked.

“Ah… good.” Dante replied, who needed a double-take to soak in the moment.

“I’m not even fully here right now,” Dante said after the encounter.

Diggs was humble when asked how he felt knowing that he could have made the dreams of young fans come true today.

“I try not to think about it too much that way. I try to keep it on a friend level. Those are just my younger friends, you know. I’m an adult but those are some younger kids that I look at as like my peers basically.” Diggs continued, “I look at them as my friends and hopefully, somewhat family because hopefully I’ll get invited back to see them again.”

When asked how it felt to hand-deliver the gifts to the children, Diggs said he hoped to lift the spirits of children who may be going through some tough times.

“It felt good.” Diggs replied. “Just as far as the platform I have and where I’m at in my life, it feels good just to give back.”

Diggs said being close to his own family has helped him when he makes visits to kids who are going through times of adversity.

“I’ve been through a lot of times where my mom’s never left my back. My little brother has always had my back, right or wrong. So to come in here and the kids that are going through a lot or going through some adversity, hopefully I can just give them a little bit of extra encouragement. A little bit of love. Love conquers all. So give them a little bit back. Put a smile on their face.”