CINCINNATI — A 6-year-old boy from Texas battling cancer had his wish come true when he got the opportunity to meet Bengals wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase.
For six months, Brixton Woods lived in a hospital fighting for his life against the cancer that wanted to steal it, Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML).
His mom and dad, Ashley and Bodie, wanted his stay in a Georgetown, Texas hospital to feel like home, so they decorated his room with the colors and logos of his favorite NFL team, the Cincinnati Bengals.
As long as Brixton — who's nicknamed Brix — can remember, he's been a Bengals fan. His dad fell in love with the team in the Carson Palmer years and Brix followed in his dad's footsteps.
So when Brix was diagnosed with AML, his mom asked him, "if he could do anything in the world, what would it be?"
"I want to meet Ja'Marr Chase," she said Brix told her.
Like any mom who wants to please her son, she was on the case.
"I'm like, alright... I'm gonna, I'm gonna see if I can make this happen," Ashley Woods said.
When the Bengals played in Dallas, they were there with Brix carrying a sign hoping to meet Chase — but it didn't happen.
Two weeks later, Brix checked in to the hospital for six months of treatment.
There, he played catch on his Bengals carpe, did weekly "Brix's picks," where he predicted which teams would win their matchups, and instead of watching the Bengals at home with his dad, he watched it from his hospital bed.
"It was really hard. It was a very hard six months," Ashley Woods said. "But he was strong and pushed through and never gave up... football was the thing that got him through."
Brix even made up his own Who Dey chant, which goes, "Who Dey, who Dey, Who Dey think gonna beat that cancer, Brixton!"
He sang it the day his treatment ended, when he was able to run down the hallway of the hospital while every nurse and aide wore orange and black "B" t-shirts that read #teamBrix
As Brix's treatment was winding down, the Woods got a call from Make-a-Wish.
He had the chance to meet Chase in Cincinnati.
"I got to see Ja'Marr Chase. I got to score a touchdown on their field. I got to see him practice," Brix said.
After flying to Cincinnati, Brix didn't just get to meet Chase. He also got a lesson on Chase's signature touchdown dance, the Griddy.
He also met Who Dey, as well as other players and coaches. His parents described the day in one word: magic.
"We are super happy that we did it," Bodie Woods said. "Because we felt like he got like a once-in-a-lifetime experience."
There is a theory that you never want to meet your heroes, but that's not so in Brix's case. In fact, his mom tells WCPO that she couldn't be happier that Chase is her son's favorite player.
"We're happy it's Ja'Marr," she said. "Because he was just like super great with (Brix)."
Brix is currently in remission from his AML leukemia, and his parents say they are hopeful he will remain healthy.
Brix's story is also being shared in ESPN's "My Wish" series, which returned for its 16th season July 16. The featured segments, including Brix's, will ait on SportsCenter and will re-air multiple times.
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