Okafor And Anderson Make Hospital Visit

Amid his somber surroundings, Jimmy Murray couldn’t find words.

The normally chatty 6-year-old had just met two giants. His heroes came in the form of Bobcats Emeka Okafor and Alan Anderson, who spent Monday, April 2 with approximately 25 children at Presbyterian Hemby Children’s Hospital.

Donned in a University of North Carolina T-shirt and with a basketball ready to be signed, Murray was genuine in his subtle excitement.

“These kids watch us on TV,” Okafor said. “They’re jumping up and down as we come in, and it means a lot to help them.”

Clad among five members of his immediate family, the spectacle-faced boy was a day removed from being diagnosed with juvenile diabetes. His mind and family needed something else – a human distraction.

“He was really looking forward to it,” said Jimmy’s father Jim Murray, who was dressed in an orange Bobcats T-shirt. “Emeka (and Alan) is the first professional ballplayer that he’s actually ever met and talked to. He kept asking all day when they were going to show up.”

Jimmy Murray was playing recreation baseball in Hickory, N.C. and later the same day, was clouded with worries about blood sugar and needles. The diagnosis was a mental blow for Murray and his family, knowing the disease would consistently be something they would have to deal with.

That’s when the family pointed to the Bobcats, and specifically Adam Morrison, who was diagnosed with Type II diabetes as a 14-year-old. Morrison has funneled his celebrity status to champion the cause for diabetes awareness.

“He can look at Adam and see what he’s accomplished, and it shows that (Jimmy) can accomplish anything he wants to too,” Jim Murray said. “This won’t hold him back.”

While Okafor has adopted his own causes, mostly aimed at saving one million lives in Africa, he still enjoys the excited faces that his mere presence elicits.

“We’re all part of the community here, and this is just one small aspect,” Okafor said. “It makes you more appreciative of what you have. It helps you count your blessings.”