The Day Lloyd Carr called me a Michigan Man

One thing I've learned over the past 2 years is that no matter how busy you are, it's important to always take at least a little time out of your life to do something for someone else. Even the tiniest gesture can mean a great deal to someone going through a difficult situation. I hope to show you what I mean with this story.

About 18 months ago, just prior to going through my first stem-cell transplant, I woke up one morning around 9 A.M. and went downstairs to have breakfast. I had already been through a lot of therapy and was a little weak, so I was nervous about my upcoming round of treatment. When I got downstairs I saw that a message had been left on my phone around 6 A.M. that morning. I recognized the area code as an Ann Arbor, Michigan, number, but I didn't know anybody living there who would be calling me.

As many of you know, I attended school at Michigan from 2000-2004, and I was (and still am) a a HUGE Michigan football fan. Nothing could have prepared me for the voice I heard when I started the message. It was Michigan football head coach Lloyd Carr, a legend in Ann Arbor and a national figure, calling to wish me luck and to tell me to be strong.

Lloyd Carr was the head coach of the football program while I was attending school there from 2000-2004, and continued to coach until retiring in 2008. I had a lot of respect for coach Carr. We didn't win any national championships while I was there, but I really valued his integrity and commitment to the program.

The most amazing thing about the call was that I had never met the man personally. He had received an email from a very good college friend of mine who informed him of my situation. My friend told him what a big fan I was, and he decided to pick up the phone and call me. Understand , this was during the football season - his final season as head coach. He already had about 1 million football related tasks on his plate at the time, but instead of going out and having his players run wind sprints and stairs, he chose to take 5 minutes out of his day to call me (that might be why we lost the first 2 games...just kidding Coach).

The time he spent calling me may not have made a big difference in his life, but it meant the world to me. Not only did it give me an emotional and mental boost, but it also taught me that what may seem like a small gesture to some, can actually mean the world to others. Since then, I've tried to always take a little time out to do the little things for others as much as I possibly can.

I hope to one day call Lloyd Carr, tell him I'm cured, and thank him for taking five minutes of his day to think about me. It made a world of difference. Here is the message if you'd like to listen for yourself.



Special thanks to my friend J Brady for telling Lloyd Carr about me, and my friend Angilee for saving this message so I could have it forever.