Nine-year-old Ecole Olds Elementary School student Carter Thompson got the thrill of his life Monday, Feb. 11 when the Grey Cup arrived in the school, along several members of the Calgary Stampeders and escorted by RCMP in red serge.
Thompson is battling cancer -- Stage 3 non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
He was born with a hereditary heart condition. It's the same one that took his father's life about a year ago.
As a newborn, Thompson went into heart failure and his organs began shutting down.
He received a heart transplant and for several years, he was described as a normal, active, healthy boy.
But last summer he suffered stomach and back pain. That's when he was diagnosed with Stage 3 non-Hodgkin lymphoma, a condition that sometimes develops after a person receives a transplant.
"Carter is so excited," his mom, Tracy Thompson said. "He's the biggest Stamps fan. Football is where his heart lives."
The Stampeders won the Grey Cup, the Canadian Football League's championship trophy, on Nov. 25 last year. It was the eighth time the team has won it.
Further coverage of this event will be provided in a later edition of the Olds Albertan.
