When Patrick Stewart was let go by the Carolina Panthers two years ago, facing the unknown was scary.
But it was nothing compared to when his two-year-old son, Theo, was diagnosed with Pre-B acute lymphocytic leukemia. When Patrick's career in scouting had coincided with treatment, moving him and his wife, Whitney, all over the east coast. She stepped back from her career as a surgical ICU nurse to care for their son, while Patrick's jobs in pro football supported their family.
They took things day to day, as they did once before. Until Patriots coach Bill Belichick called with an offer for Patrick to return to New England.
"I was let go in Carolina, and literally within a week Bill called and asked me to come back. It felt like a sign," Patrick, the Patriots director of pro personnel, told Patriots.com about his decision to support The Jimmy Fund for the NFL's My Cause My Cleats initiative in Week 13.
"This is a very special place for us. We lived here for years before we had kids, so to be able to come back now with kids is cool. We do a lot of the stuff we used to do, just with the kids now. And the fact that you have the best cancer hospital in the world and your son gets to go there, they're the people looking over his numbers and they trained their whole career to work at the best place in the world for this – it's amazing as a parent to know that's in your backyard."
After everything they'd been through, Patrick and Whitney were comforted by the move back to greater Boston.
They'd previously spent a decade in New England. He'd risen through the Patriots ranks after being hired as a scouting assistant in 2007 and was part of two Super Bowl championship teams, while she worked in clinical cancer trials at Dana Farber Cancer Institute.
Patrick was hired by the Philadelphia Eagles as a national scout in 2018. With the team coming off a Super Bowl of their own, over New England, he was looking forward to an exciting year.
But at the start of training camp for the Eagles, their entire world was turned upside down.
In hindsight, Theo, had seemed especially lethargic and clingy in the weeks prior to his diagnosis. He'd experienced fevers over the course of a month, and a preschool teacher mentioned he was looking pale.
When Whitney found a petechia on his chest while changing her baby, her experience as a nurse and intuition as a mother kicked in.
She told Patrick she was taking Theo to the doctor in hopes that her suspicions were wrong. He was gearing up for a busy season of college visits that ultimately would have to wait.
"Whitney was on high alert then," Patrick said. "When all of this happened she knew what to ask when she went to the doctor that day. She wanted the extra lab work done. She wanted to get confirmation of what she thought might be going on."
The first 15 days after Theo's diagnosis were spent in the hospital, and after going home for a few days, an infection brought them back for another 15. The Eagles gave Patrick the time he needed.
The Stewarts were based in Columbus, Ohio at the time, just a few minutes away from Nationwide Children's Hospital – where Theo ended up receiving a bulk of his treatment. Whitney stopped working to fully focus on his care, and with her background, truly understood what Theo was going through.
Her knowledge was a blessing. But at times, like when Theo coded after a bad reaction to a drug, it was a curse. She sometimes knew too much, and guilt set in on her husband.
"It was hard for me," Patrick said. "I felt so guilty about having to leave and go to work while she was there every day dealing with everything. She had to really explain to me one day that my insurance was really good, and we needed it. 'That is what you're doing for us right now, so go earn it.' It made me a lot more disciplined at work, too. If I was going to go out on the road I was getting all my work done, so that when I was home I was getting quality time."
It's hard to talk about that quality time for Patrick without getting choked up. He marveled at his young son's reading and vocabulary skills, and how creative he was with his Lego blocks, manifested from so much time around adults and in waiting rooms.
Weekend treatments often found them at the hospital on Sundays, so Patrick got Theo a bunch of mini football helmets.
"We would go through and he would pick out that week's matchups, and he memorized all the teams and everything," Patrick says, as he's instantly taken back to that time period, when the only thing that got them through an appointment were the special toys Theo got to play with at the hospital.
"He was too young to tell us what he was going through when something bothered him or if the medicine sucked. He couldn't tell us what he was feeling. He didn't know to complain. It's crazy how they just build that resilience. They talk about how kids are so resilient, and if we all know that, why do we have to test them? Why do they have to go through this. It's hard. I would have done anything to change places with him, but I wouldn't have done as well as him."
When a new job opportunity with the Carolina Panthers presented itself, Patrick was hesitant to take it at first. But Theo was through the worst of his treatment, and Levine Children's in Charlotte was a sister hospital of where the child had already been receiving care.
It was in Charlotte where Theo finally got to "ring the bell" and celebrate the end of treatment before his sixth birthday.
"He was very unassuming about it," Patrick recalls, proud to have the moment documented on video. "All the nurses lined the hallway for him and the bell was up on a wall. Theo got up there to ring the bell, and he rang it so many times he ripped it off the wall. It was awesome."
Life looks different for the Stewarts on their second stint in Boston. This time around, they have two boys in tow, including Theo's little brother Calvin.
Theo is a healthy and happy eight-year-old who Patrick describes as smart, active, competitive, and "super tough."
"He's really fun to be around and a great big brother even when he beats up on Calvin," Patrick said. "He does all the right things and is a great kid. He's perfect."
Theo is also now able to participate in sports.
"I love the joy he gets out of little things," Patrick added. "He doesn't need to be the best player, he just loves being on the team. He's always a high-five guy. He's a glue guy. It's really fun to watch him now get to do those things because we didn't know if he'd be able to."
It's a relief to see his son finally get to be a kid, and Patrick hopes to help spotlight the work being done by The Jimmy Fund to raise money for advancements in both care and research in pediatric cancer at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
"When you're impacted by it and you find out only 4% of all government funding for cancer goes to childhood cancer research you realize how much more work needs to be done," Patrick said.
"Childhood cancer is every type of cancer. Places like The Jimmy Fund fill in that gap where government funding doesn't reach. They raise critical funds to drive research and studies to improve and tailor treatments for children."
Theo is now part of The Jimmy Fund Survivor Program at Dana-Farber – the same cancer treatment and research center where Whitney worked early in her career, educating patient families about clinical trials, while Patrick was forging his path in the NFL with the Patriots.
And when Patrick stands on the sidelines before New England takes on the Indianapolis Colts next week, wearing shoes customized by children receiving care at The Jimmy Fund, he'll be reminded of the days when a special toy, a visit from an athlete, or fun programming from the child life specialists got his family through the day.
"I'll wear those shoes this weekend, but nobody is really going to see me," Patrick said.
"I'm not going to make a tackle in them. They won't be on camera or anything. But just to have them on the field and know that some kids got to pass time during their treatment to help design them is cool. Hopefully that gave them some joy to have fun painting a pair of shoes."
