There was a lot to consider for David Andrews the last few days.
Injured in the Patriots Week 4 loss to the San Francisco 49ers, New England's veteran center had to weigh the options of getting season-ending surgery or playing through it.
The kids at Hasbro Children's Hospital, however, would never have guessed what was going on in his head when Andrews visited Tuesday with teammates Mike Onwenu, Anfernee Jennings, and Cole Strange. He knew from experience that those children deserved his full attention.
"Worth spent five days here (at Hasbro), so it was good to come back on these terms," Andrews said, referring to the challenges he and his wife faced when their three-month-old son was born.
"We always go to Boston Children's and I love everything they do, but I remember when Worth got out I wanted to work something out to visit Hasbro. There's a lot of kids here, and thankfully we were in a great situation (with the care Worth received), but there are a lot of kids going through stuff here. You always try to keep that in perspective, and coming back today is my way of saying thank you."
The visit was in honor of the NFL's Crucial Catch initiative, with the players spending the bulk of their time in the Providence hospital's pediatric oncology unit.
Players gifted the patients with Patriots teddy bears, autographed footballs, and posed for pictures with the kids.
The goal of the visit was to brighten the children's day, as well as their parents and hardworking caretakers.
Ultimately, it did the same for the players.
"Honestly, just being here and bringing some light to these kids' day was a good feeling for me, and you could tell from their reactions that it was good for them too," Jennings said.
"Doing a visit like this helps reality set in. We go out and play a game, and we take it seriously, but these kids don't care about wins and losses. They're dealing with real battles in life. It was just a great thing to come in here and make their day."
