As one of Tom Brady’s teammates, Nate Solder knows an MVP when he sees one. That’s why after being named a Walter Payton Man of the Year nominee and receiving two complimentary Super Bowl LII tickets, he decided to give the tickets to a very important person in so many families’ lives who are affected by childhood cancer.
Solder, who had testicular cancer in 2014 and whose 2-year-old son, Hunter, has a rare kidney cancer, stopped by the Jimmy Fund Clinic at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston in early January to surprise Lisa Scherber, the Director Patient & Family Programs, with the tickets.
Nicknamed the “Play Lady,” Scherber has been with the clinic for more than two decades, organizing fun trips and events for patients and their families such as Christmas parties, summer festivals and outings to Red Sox Spring Training. She’s in non-stop planning mode, always putting others before herself.
Since she puts smiles on so many others’ faces, the New England Patriots offensive tackle wanted to present her with an opportunity that would invoke the same reaction.
“Lisa was the first person to come to mind because she’s always here. She’s always pours out her heart and organizing these incredible events that we’ve gone to,” Nate said. “The amount of balls she has to juggle and the things that she does and the people she impacts is amazing.”
Here’s the clip:
At @TheJimmyFund Clinic, Lisa Scherber has been dedicated to making patients & families smile for over 20 years.
This week, @soldernate surprised her with 2 tickets to SBLII:#WPMOYChallenge pic.twitter.com/iumJoaWAy2
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) January 3, 2018
Solder and his wife, Lexi, have gotten to know Scherber well over the last two years. Hunter was diagnosed with cancer in 2015 and had to restart chemotherapy in September, according to the Boston Globe.
Still, Solder has still made it a priority to give back to the community whether that means visiting patients at Boston Children’s Hospital or volunteering at the Jimmy Fund Radio Telethon to advance cancer research efforts.
Solder knows that Scherber’s job, much like his, is one the entails protection, only she has more pressure. She has to cushion the burden of childhood cancer.
A Super Bowl trip well deserved.