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Jim Irsay, owner of the Colts, takes young locals to Super Bowl LVII

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Indianapolis, Indiana – Thanks to Jim Irsay, owner of the Indianapolis Colts, several youngsters from central Indiana attended Super Bowl LVII in person. He sent the families of at least three recent young hospital patients to Arizona.

“I had a good time! Thank you Jim Irsay! The Chiefs won! Go Colts, go Chiefs,” 15-year-old Jaylen Applewhite said after the Super Bowl.

Jaylen loves the Chiefs a lot. He attends Purdue Polytechnic High School, where he plays football, although he spent three months at the Peyton Manning Children’s Hospital of Ascension St. Vincent last fall.

In the summer of 2022, Jaylen contracted the Epstein-Barr virus following a football camp, which led to mononucleosis and significant swelling of the brain and spine. He was immobilized for two further weeks after spending the first two on a ventilator and in a coma.

Jaylen has fully recovered and on Sunday, he even participated in pre-Super Bowl activities by throwing the football. One day, he hopes to play in the NFL and become an engineer. The journey to the game was a realization of a dream for Jaylen.

Irsay also fulfilled the Super Bowl hopes of two Riley Hospital for Children children. He shared images of several of the children he brought to the game.

After 29 rounds of chemotherapy and surgery to remove a lump from his knee, 18-year-old Cade Thompson is no longer experiencing symptoms of osteosarcoma, a kind of bone cancer. He is a star football player at Ben Davis High School and a multi-sport athlete as well. He claims he was speechless when he received the game tickets.

“I’m just speechless. It’s crazy. I’ve never been in this situation before, and right now, I’m just trying to take it all in,” Cade said.

12-year-old Football is Brian Barbour III’s passion despite having cystic fibrosis. This season, he even got to meet Matt Ryan, the Colts’ starting quarterback and was taken aback to learn that he was going to the game.

“I never really got this opportunity before. I was shocked that they picked me out of all the other people,” Brian said.

Going to the Super Bowl was an experience that none of these kids will soon forget.

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