Before Mike Vrabel and his staff took off for
Indianapolis to interview prospects at the NFL Scouting Combine, there was one
special young man he wanted to meet first here in Boston.
You won't find Jayden's name on any mock
drafts or college football rosters – he's a 15-year-old from Cape Cod. But
after he wrote a letter to the newly hired New England Patriots coach, Vrabel
made it a priority to visit him before leaving town.
"Jayden is a long-term patient at Boston
Children's Hospital, and he's just an awesome kid," said Jane Searfoss, a
child life specialist in the pediatric intermediate care unit.
"He makes everybody smile. We're always
talking about Boston sports. He's a huge sports fan and he is always craving
connection."
For his care team, sports have been a go-to
way to give Jayden that connection.
His tutor, an Ohio State University graduate,
was hoping to get the teenager motivated for a writing project back in January
– right around the time when the Patriots hired Vrabel, another former Buckeye.
Inspiration struck.
"They connected over Ohio State and the
Patriots and decided to make the writing project a letter to Mike Vrabel, and
it was an awesome letter," Searfoss said.
"They got some Ohio State gear to send
off to Mike in hopes of getting a letter or a video back."
Ultimately, Jayden got much more than just a
letter or a video response.
When Boston Children's staff contacted the
Patriots community relations team to deliver Jayden's message, Vrabel didn't
just respond—he wanted to do more.
"(Vrabel) read what was going on with
Jayden and asked to just come see him," said Alexandra Hladick Bueno, the
hospital's media relations manager.
"He was like, 'Can I come? Can I come
tomorrow to meet him?' And this was all right before he had this huge trip. For
me and all of us here at the hospital that just says so much about who he is,
coming here on a Friday night at 6 p.m. to see one patient."
Staff couldn't wait to share the news with
Jayden. His first question? Whether his tutor could be there too.
Fortunately, his care team had already taken
care of those logistics, so they got to work to give Vrabel a warm welcome.
"We spent the day getting his room
decorated," Searfoss said.
"He got to tell his family and he talked
about it all day. He was so excited. Things like this are so amazing because it
gave him something to look forward to. It's hard to be here for so long. Days
can pass by and just feel the same. That's why this was so important. He's
already printed out the pictures for his room and has been showing everybody
the Polaroids of them both."
Having two sons of his own, staff says Vrabel
was a natural in his attempts to get through to the teenager.
They played catch, took photographs, and even
talked about the upcoming NFL Draft. Jayden had plenty of insight to offer
Vrabel, and the head coach was sure to instruct John Streicher, Patriots vice
president of football operations and strategy, to write it all down.
"It was just awesome to see that
connection because they clearly bonded immediately," Searfoss said.
"I know to see Jayden sit up and smile
like that is really heartwarming for everybody on our staff. And for someone
like Mike to talk to our staff and take a photo was a huge morale boost for
everybody involved. It's a hard job to be here and support these patients
through everything and he was just amazing."
At the visit, Vrabel also met with about 20
staffers at Boston Children's, who largely benefited from the morale boost.
"One thing that really stuck with me
that he said while we were leaving was, "You know, those ladies up there,
they really love him,'" Hladick Bueno shared.
"Just having that moment where he
totally recognized how much our care teams love our patients. He was very
struck by that."
Before leaving, Vrabel signed a football for
Jayden, writing 'We're so proud of you." He told the boy that he'd be
hanging up the letter inside his office at Gillette Stadium.
The head coach left with one request: for
Jayden to keep writing to him.
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