It was an incredible play made by Saskatchewan Roughriders receiver Duron Carter on Saturday night but it was in the moments following that truly made it special.
“I was in shock,” said 12-year-old Roughrider fan Paige Hansen. “I was shaking. I was so excited.”
Near the end of second quarter of Saturday’s game, Carter caught a highlight-reel one-handed touchdown pass from Riders quarterback Kevin Glenn. Following the touchdown celebration, Carter ran over to the front row of the end zone at Mosaic Stadium and handed the ball off to Paige, following an agreement between the two made prior to the game.
“We have season tickets in the front row so whenever they’re warming up for the game, we always talk to him,” said Paige. “And he said ‘OK we’re going to (get) a touchdown here and we’re going to celebrate in front of you’.”
And while the gesture was simple enough, it meant so much more to a young girl who’s been through a lot in her life.
“When I was 18 months, I was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia,” said Paige. “I don’t really remember much, but I do remember small bits of it and they weren’t really good times, but I managed to survive it and I’m here today so I think that’s pretty special.”
Following three years of treatment, Paige was eventually deemed cancer free. And the family has used football to cope ever since.
“It’s something that she’s gone through and is part of her life,” said Paige’s mother Michelle Hansen. “Football has been our out. Life after cancer, that’s what we do.
“Ever since I came in remission from cancer, we kind of used football as happiness for us,” said Paige. “It was a pretty dark time so we just started going to football games, and that’s where we found our happy place.”
It was a special moment, for a special girl, who was more than deserving.
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