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Game Ball Gets Special Delivery

September 04, 2015

Angelo State’s first home football game is exciting for Ram fans everywhere, but the experience was especially significant for 11-year-old Abby Galindo of San Angelo.

Abby, who receives treatment from Shannon Medical Center’s Children’s Miracle Network, delivered the game day football via the Shannon AirMed1 helicopter. She arrived alongside longtime Angelo State friend and supporter Jean Ann LeGrand.

Abby has been in treatment for a very rare condition known as Vanishing Bone Disease since she was 9. The condition makes her bones become extremely brittle and vulnerable to breaking, with the most pronounced complications in her ribs and the vertebrae in her spine.

After spending months in the hospital, she underwent chemotherapy treatment and took special vitamins to help strengthen her bones. She wears a protective brace on her spine every day.

Abby is stable now and continues to improve. She has increased her mobility and continues to thrive emotionally and academically.

LeGrand and her husband, Dr. Robert LeGrand, won the opportunity to deliver the game day ball in early August during the Phil George Blue & Gold Dinner and Auction to benefit ASU Athletics. After Robert LeGrand said he wasn’t interested in going on the flight, Jean Ann LeGrand asked Shannon to select a Children’s Miracle Network beneficiary who would enjoy the experience.