During the NFL season, Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson goes on weekly visits to Seattle Children's Hospital. He recently spent his day off there and documented his visit on Facebook Lice and his Instagram account.
In Wilson's most recent visit, he brought gifts to distribute to the kids in the hospital. In January of this year, Nike signed the quarterback for a long-term endorsement deal and the kids received the first batch of Wilson's Nike Flex show TR 5 RW kids' shoes.
The devout and outspoken Christian has visited Seattle's Children Hospital regularly with his wife. Sometimes, he even invites some of his famous sports and Hollywood celebrities to accompany him. Just last month, he was joined by Tyler Lockett and Atlanta players Devonta Freeman and Mohamed Sanu in his visit.
When asked about that particular visit, Wilson remarked that it was a special day, and bigger than any game he had to won. He cherishes the opportunity to see a kid smile because of their visits. He knows what it means to have loved ones in the hospital, as his father died in 2010 after battling diabetes and his mother is an E.R. nurse.
"Guardians of the Galaxy" actor Chris Pratt, who shares the same Christian as Wilson, also went with the athlete last December. Pratt considers Russell Wilson as one of his role models. In his post, Pratt asked his social media followers to share a prayer for the kids who cannot be home for Christmas due to their sickness, then went on to cite Psalm 37:3-4 "Trust in the Lord and do good. Dwell in the land, and enjoy safe pasture. Also delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart."
Wilson considers the visits to the hospital as his opportunity to give back.
"To share moments with people, and the idea that everything's not perfect in life but if we can find a way to share love and to give back and to hopefully give a smile to somebody, that's the hope. Every time I walk into the room I'm praying for a miracle. Whenever you see a young kid who's eight years old, 10 years old, six years old, maybe a newborn, it's never a good sight, but ultimately you hope and believe that that person will be able to overcome the situation and hopefully that you'll be able to encourage the family members too as well."
