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Author
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Topic: A UK fan story that's as good as it gets
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catmandoo
Player
Member # 1284
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posted 08-13-2014 09:28 PM
It stories like this that make you glad that you are part of the Big Blue family.
Patrick Wren was wiped out. All he wanted to do was lie down. Then his wife, ever so appropriately named Joy, gave him a reason to get up.
On the day he completed his 42nd and final radiation treatment for the prostate cancer doctors discovered in February, she presented him with a gift: Joy was sending her husband and their two sons to the Bahamas to see their beloved University of Kentucky basketball team play six exhibition games.
"It was incredible," said Patrick, his eyes welling with tears. "Just incredible."
For Wren, a 57-year-old Louisville native who now lives in College Station, Texas, but has been a Wildcats fan "since I came out of the womb," the news was about to get even better. He was chosen — in a random drawing among the several hundred UK fans who made the trip — to be an honorary assistant coach for one of the games.
So there he was Monday, sitting on the Cats' bench and standing in team huddles as players shuttled in and out, taking turns pummeling a French professional team. Everyone in the gym wanted that seat, but the fans here who've learned Wren's story could not be happier it went to him.
Kentucky basketball fan Patrick Wren's wife surprised him with a trip to the Bahamas to see the Cats after his cancer treatment. Then he got to be coach for a day. Kyle Tucker, The C-J
"The cool thing about Kentucky basketball is it's like one big family," said Wren, for whom this trip has felt like a big blue embrace. "It's fabulous."
Wren had his picture taken with John Calipari, who congratulated him on an excellent coaching job. (Kentucky won that game by 23.) They did not discuss his illness. Too depressing, and there were more important topics.
"Of course, I asked him about Cleveland," Wren said, referring to reports this summer that Calipari was close to taking the Cavaliers' coaching job in the NBA. "He said he had no intention of ever going there, and I said, 'Love you, man.' He gave me a big hug. It was just an incredible experience."
The day Wren sat on Kentucky's bench, Calipari actually didn't stay there, but even that turned out to be a treat for the family. Calipari let his real assistants do the coaching while he watched from the top row of bleachers in the gym. Only three people sat up there with him, and two were Wren's sons.
Seventeen-year-old Hunter and 20-year-old Jared — "after Jared Prickett, of course" — took pictures with Calipari and met most of the players. Jared "didn't realize how big a 7-footer is" until he posed for a photo with freshman star Karl-Anthony Towns.
"They're all as sweet as they can be," Patrick Wren said, "and they're gracious and give you as much time as you want."
UK's players spent part of their first day off in the Bahamas distributing shoes to the needy with Samaritan's Feet on Wednesday. That's an ongoing charity partnership thanks to Calipari,.
The Wren boys also could not resist asking Calipari about Cleveland. They went about it sheepishly, though.
"It was really intimidating. I didn't want to bother him, because I knew he was evaluating," Jared said. "But he talked to us a little bit. He made a few jokes. It was pretty awesome."
Awesome is just what this family needed. Patrick Wren said he still hasn't regained his strength from the radiation treatments, which came five days a week for more than two months. When the games here in the Bahamas end, he heads back to the hotel and passes out from exhaustion.
Still, this looks like progress to his sons.
"Whenever he got (cancer) and he was going through (treatment), he pretty much just slept all the time," Jared said. "But it feels like he's a lot happier now. It's just one of those things where you wake up and you thank God for everything that's going on right now."
Earlier this week, Patrick Wren got to meet Mike Pratt, one of his favorite former UK players who now calls Cats games on the radio. Wren started crying. He choked up again Tuesday recalling all he's experienced on this dream trip.
He won't know whether his radiation was successful for a few more months, meaning his future remains uncertain. But Wren is sure of one thing now: his sons will have a special memory with their dad.
"They'll cherish it forever," Wren said. "I will, too. It has lifted me up big-time."
Link
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http://www.ukfightsong.com/
Posts: 186359 | From: st. augustine florida 32092 | Registered: Mar 2001
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SCWC
Player
Member # 2464
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posted 08-14-2014 06:00 AM
That is quite a human interest story. I am truly happy for that man and his sons, that has to be a big event for anyone, especially someone who is battling cancer. Kentucky basketball is just one big extended family, that is what makes it so special to all of us.
Posts: 17777 | From: Myrtle Beach, SC | Registered: Jun 2005
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Old Norm
Administrator
Member # 1482
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posted 08-14-2014 12:36 PM
Totally agree ^^^^^.
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Pray For Our Country!
Posts: 36269 | From: Western KY | Registered: Aug 2001
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Bama Cat
Player
Member # 153
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posted 08-14-2014 09:37 PM
AMEN!!
Posts: 14140 | From: berea, ky, usa | Registered: Sep 1999
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