Redblacks, Ravens made son feel special

I wanted to share a great story about two football teams, the Ottawa Redblacks and Carleton Ravens, who took the time to make my son feel special.

While at the Redblacks game on Oct. 19, Ewan received a game ball which was caught by a Carleton Raven, #85 Phil Iloki. After catching the ball, Phil turned to Ewan and offered him the ball. It was a really kind gesture that our 12-year-old son will never forget. He was even on TV clutching his ball. As a Carleton Alumni, I was proud to see this CU student and football player exemplify such kindness and generosity.

Ewan has a severe speech and language disorder called Childhood Apraxia of Speech. He has come a long way since the diagnosis at two years old but he still faces challenges with communication every day. Nights like this make him feel like he’s king of the world and for that I can’t thank people like Phil enough.

After the game, I emailed the coaches of the Redblacks and the Ravens to thank them for a great night. Both teams responded with offers to come to a Redblacks practice, a Ravens playoff game and another Redblacks game. Ewan also received two game balls with signatures and was able to throw the ball around with the players. These gestures meant so much to my son and our family. He is a football fan for life now.

We live in a town with some great athletes who know how to share their success with fans and I wanted to spotlight these kind acts from our local football heroes. Robin McMillan, Ottawa