Forwilson,givingasimportantaswinning
Especially to children’s hospital patients
ENGLEWOOD — You can call Russell Wilson a lot of things, Milton Wright III said, but don’t you dare call him a phony. Not when it comes to the things nearest and dearest to Wilson’s heart.
“He’s a good guy,” Wright III, a cancer survivor, former Seattle Children’s Hospital patient, Seattle Children’s Hospital nursing staffer and longtime Dangeruss pal, told The Post by phone. “He’s a cool dude.
“When I first met him, I didn’t know if it was for real or not. A lot of people do (hospital visits) and what not. He’s been doing it this whole time I’ve been here (in Seattle). When he came in here, when he was visiting patients, it’s not a publicity stunt, like I feel (it is) for a lot of other (celebrities). For him, it was a personal thing.”
Wright III grew up in and out of hospitals. Chemotherapy. Experimental treatments. A childhood roller-coaster. At age 8, Milton was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. It returned when he was 15. And again at 20. When it comes to kids and charity work, Milton can spot a phony from seven yards out.
“And it wasn’t this persona that (Wilson) was putting on,” Wright stressed when asked about the new Broncos quarterback. “To see that he actually cares, he actually wants to do this, and then to get to talk to him and hang out with him here or there — that’s who he is. It’s pretty much what he says. He’s pretty much at face value for what he does.”
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Russell Wilson is a lot of things, Wright III said, but don’t you dare call him shallow.
You want a scouting report on Wilson, the quarterback, you call Seattle Seahawks general manager John Schneider. You want a scouting report on Wilson, the human being? You call Milton.
Wilson and Wright III first met 10 years ago, when the former was a rookie quarterback in the NFC West and the latter was a senior quarterback at local Garfield High, back in treatment at Seattle Children’s Hospital.
Dangeruss adjusting to a new town and a new community. Wright was adjusting to life without football, having been told by doctors that all those years of radiation treatments had caused him to develop cardiomyopathy, weakening his heart to the point where he had to give up the game.
“If I didn’t get sick or what-not,” he told Wilson, “I’d be coming for your spot right now.”
Wilson just shook his head and laughed. The two became fast friends, a bond that grew, in part, because of Wilson’s weekly Tuesday visits to Children’s Hospital.
Wright III would occasionally be a guest in Wilson’s private box at Lumen Field. When schedules lined up, the two even did fund-raisers together for the Strong Against Cancer initiative. Russell and Ciara Wilson’s Why Not You
Foundation had reportedly raised $8 million for Strong Against Cancer as of March 2020.
“I think you guys can expect the same thing from him (there) because obviously, that’s very near and dear to him,” Wright said.
“He just got out there (in the community). You guys are going to see plenty of it. And I think you guys can expect the same things that here in Seattle that we know and love him for. And I know everybody out here is happy for him. There’s no hate out here. Everybody wants him to do well and wants him to do good, no matter what team or what he’s doing. He’s a big part of Seattle. And always will be.”
If Week 1 of The Russell Wilson Era is any indication, he wants to be a big part of Broncos Country, too.
A day before he was to be introduced to Denver fans and media at Uchealth Center, in his first major Front Range event as the soon-to-be face of the Broncos, the ninetime Pro Bowl quarterback and wife Ciara visited Children’s Hospital in Aurora. The couple visited patients and read from their new book, “Why Not You?,” which encourages kids to chase their dreams, no matter how big, no matter what obstacles life puts in front of them.
Dangeruss even dropped Wright III’S name, unprompted, this past Wednesday while addressing reporters.
“I remember memories of guys like Milton Wright, who had cancer and he told me he only had 12 to 18 months left to live,” Wilson recalled. “Dr. Mike Jensen telling me there’s a chance, and the nurses telling me there’s a chance, if we do T-cell therapy. I asked them what T-cell therapy (was), and they told me they take the T-cells out of his body, regenerate and re-energize them, and come back in the kids’ body and within two weeks, hopefully, the kid’s cured. ‘ We don’t know if it’ll work or not.’
“So I went back in there and told him, I said, ‘If you do this and it doesn’t work, you won’t remember.’ He started laughing and I said, ‘If you do this and it does work, you will be a legend forever.’
“He got up and said, ‘Hell, yeah, I’m doing this! You know what? Not me!’ And (he) walked out with it.
“Those kind of memories, those kind of miracles, those kind of moments and all the amazing doctors and nurses and people that give and help with research — it’s everything. So for Ciara and I, going to hospitals and going children’s hospitals and helping the youth is everything to us because we have three beautiful kids. The reality is, that you never know.”
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Russell Wilson is a lot of things, Wright III says, but don’t you dare call him stiff.
“Believe or not, as serious as he is, and as much of a businessman as he has become now,” Milton said, “he actually has a funny side to him.”
Funny … how?
“(If) he’s talking in public or after the game, he looks like such a serious person. But you get him behind the cameras, where doesn’t have to do all that, he’s actually a funny guy, he’s really loose, just nonchalant, jokes with you, all that stuff.”
Wright almost got Dangeruss to dance on stage with him once. Almost. If you throw some classic Michael Jackson tunes on, and Wilson’s in the mood, anything’s possible.
“He’s always on the go, he’s always trying to get it,” said Wright, who’s in good health and is transitioning into a career in law enforcement.
“That’s one thing that I do try to take from him. If I’m down, that whole (mindset of), ‘ No, you this. Come on, this and
I’m in the gym six days a week, I’m lifting three days a week … that’s one thing I do take from him. I respect his drive.”
He respects the man’s mission, too. And admits he’s envious for the kids along the Front Range who’ll get to see just how much the Broncos quarterback makes that mission a part of his soul.
“I’m happy you guys have him and I’m you guys can utilize him for what he’s worth,” Wright III said.
“I feel bad, personally, for Russ … (The Seahawks) hadn’t been (giving) Russ what he deserves as far as rebuilding the team. So I would love to see him win a couple more Super Bowls.”
Join the club, Milton. Join the club.