When then 12-year-old Grant Reed was told he had a tumor and it was cancer, his Dad, Troy, said the boy refused to hear the word “cancer” when the doctor explained it to him.
“He didn’t want any part of talking about cancer. It was a pretty non-productive conversation that afternoon. Finally the oncologist looked at Grant Reed and said, ‘Grant, we have to call it something. We don’t have to call it that (cancer), but we have to call it something so we can talk about it. So your goal for tonight is to figure out what you want to call it so when I come back tomorrow we can talk about it.”
Troy said that evening, while they were playing a game in the hospital, Reed suddenly said, “I know what I’m going to call it: Michigan.”
When his parents asked why, Reed said, “Because Ohio State always beats Michigan and we’re going to beat this.”
That was in early May of 2012, which began a long process for Grant and his family. But on July 5 of this year, Grant rang the victory bell at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, signifying the end to his chemotherapy.
During the time in between – from surgery to radiation to chemotherapy and recovery – Grant became one of Nationwide Children’s Hospital’s “star” children, as he was the very first to go into the new rehab side of the hospital. “He was patient number one,” said Troy, “so he got to pick any room he wanted. He picked a room that had a really good view of Columbus’s skyline. We knew we were going to be there for the Red, White and Boom, so we had a great view of it.”
Following the surgery to remove the tumor, Reed named spent six weeks in PICU and their neuro-surgery unit and then another six weeks in the new rehabilitation portion of the hospital.
The Reeds were no stranger to the hospital as their younger son, Collin, had undergone three surgeries there for Legg-Perthes Disease, a degenerative condition of the hips.
When Reed rang the bell, Jerod Smalley from Columbus’s Channel 4 was there to record his “win” over “Michigan” and the story went national. “It circulated through the Detroit Free Press and then USA Today picked up on it and then SportsCenter…and it kind of blew up from there,” said Troy. “It went nuts for about two weeks.”
The day after ringing the bell, Grant had to return to Nationwide because he spiked a fever and ended up spending a week in the hospital. “Mary Ellen Peacock, one of the media persons for Nationwide, fielded the media and kept things in an organized flow,” said Troy of all the attention they were getting.
After that, things died down and Grant went back to Bellville with his family, but soon afterwards they received a phone call from Michigan Head Coach Brady Hoke. After speaking with Troy Reed, Coach Hoke asked to speak with Grant and told him it was probably the only time he would ever say this, but he was glad Grant beat Michigan. He then invited the Reeds to the Ohio State vs. Michigan game coming up in November.
Not only are they going to the game, but the Rotary Club in Michigan is paying for their hotel stay.
“It’s hard to dislike Michigan with as classy as most of their fans and coaching staff have been,” admitted Troy Reed.
Sports Illustrated got wind of the talk with Hoke, but the media for the Michigan Wolverines would not release any information that the Reeds didn’t first approve. Then Fox Sports called and they wanted to do a story on Grant as well.
“They came to our house with all their equipment and spent about six to seven hours with us,” said Troy. But the best thing about the day was the person they sent to do the interview: former Ohio State Heisman Trophy winner, Eddie George.
“It was pretty cool for me and Denise because we were in the Ohio State Band at the time Eddie was a player.” Troy Reed admits meeting George meant more to him and his wife than to Grant. “He said, ‘Cool, an old Ohio State player,’ and I said, “No, no, this is Eddie George!”
George asked about getting more footage of Grant at an actual Ohio State Game and Troy said he could probably get tickets to the upcoming Buffalo game. Before he had a chance to get the tickets he got a call from the producer at Fox who said, “Eddie already got your tickets for you.”
“They had us at the 50-yard line, section C seats…they were awesome.”
Prior to the game, Troy Reed got another call from Fox’s producer letting him know that Archie Griffin, another alumni player and two-time Heisman Trophy winner, would be at the game in his suite and wanted to meet Grant.
After the first quarter the Reed family went up to Griffin’s suite. “He was telling Grant how when Ohio State beats Michigan they get gold pants (pendant) and he pulled out a box. Denise and I immediately knew what it was and I started crying,” admitted Troy. Griffin said, “I had to wait until I was eighteen to get my gold pants.”
The gold pants stem back to Coach Francis Schmidt (1934-1940) during a time when Michigan was having an exceptional season and was expected to blast Ohio State. As the coach was getting his team pumped up, he told them, “Michigan players put their pants on one leg at a time, same as everyone else.” They beat Michigan 34 to 0.
Now Grant Reed, just 13-years-old and the biggest winner of all against his “Michigan” has his own gold pants to show for it.
“He wears it for every Saturday game,” said his Dad.
What’s next for after the Michigan game? The Make-a-Wish Foundation is sending them to Disneyland. Reed’s brother, Collin, is most excited about that trip. During all of Grant’s hospital stays and treatment, Collin has been passed around to family members, spending a great deal of time with his aunt and her family. The Reeds are looking forward to having this family fun time together.
“It’s hard to dislike Michigan with as classy as most of their fans and coaching staff have been,” admitted Troy Reed.
