Sunday, March 02, 2008

Fallen girl's courage had huge effect on Neitzel


Greenandwhite.com: Fallen girl's courage had huge effect on Neitzel: "Just like every other Saturday in the fall, 11-year-old Natalie Freiburger of Charlotte was playing soccer with her youth team.
Two days later, she was diagnosed with what her mother described as 'a rare and aggressive form of ovarian cancer.'"...
Natalie was such a Neitzel fan, that after she was diagnosed - and got her head shaved - she had a picture taken of herself to emulate a picture of Neitzel pumping his fists in an MSU win over Wisconsin last season.
The pictures hung side by side, on the door of her hospital room.
Neitzel and Natalie began communicating frequently on the Web page and via e-mail. He visited her on Christmas Eve, gave her a hat and a Sparty doll, let her wear his letter jacket.
She told him she had one concern - how her parents would be able to cope with her death. That struck Neitzel, as it had her parents.
"One night, her father was crying on the end of her bed and she said, 'It's OK, Dad, I'm going to be all right,' "

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