For five Buffalo Bills players, Cinco de Mayo took on another meaning when the players visited children in the oncology area of Women's and Children's Hospital in Buffalo on May 5th.
Buffalo Bills defensive back Lydell Sargeant, linebacker Nic Harris, defensive back Cary Harris, safety/captain George Wilson and linebacker Bryan Scott helped decorate maracas, assisted with a festive coloring station and even took some artistic breaks to play air hockey with the kids.
The players wanted to hang out with the kids and get them distracted from being at the hospital. The area was filled with fiesta decorations and lively music played in the background to help young patients forget their troubles and get into the spirit of Cinco de Mayo.
"My favorite part of the day was hanging out with the kids and seeing their faces and how excited they were that we came to visit them," said Sargeant. "Making maracas was a great tie into the Cinco de Mayo themed party too!"
Scott said, "The one moment that stood out was when one of the little girls named Leilah asked me for an autograph, and when I started to sign it she took it away from me and signed it herself and gave me her autograph. It says, To Bryan, how are you doing? I think good. From Leilah."
Wilson, who will soon be visiting students throughout the Buffalo Public Schools with his 'That's Life' speaker series, also shared the real reason for the Bills visit.
"My friend Hudson showed me how to color today," said Wilson. "It was very therapeutic to see all the smiles on the kids faces and for me to be able to color and stay in-between the lines for a change, the pressure was on me! I had such a great time with the kids and putting some smiles on their faces. We just wanted to give them a break away from their typical days here at the hospital."
Women & Children's Hospital of Buffalo, a Kaleida Health facility and teaching hospital for the University at Buffalo School of Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, is the regional center for specialized pediatric, perinatal and obstetrical services in Western New York and beyond. For more information visit **www.wchob.org**.
