Texas Children’s Hospital patients welcomed as BU’s guests for Texas Bowl

Among the 68,000 fans in attendance for the Texas Bowl were approximately 300 special guests of the university: a gathering of patients (and their families) from Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston. Sitting with members of Baylor’s Student Foundation, the children received not only tickets to the game but Gold Rush shirts, green and gold pom-poms and BU temporary tattoos. Some families even brought homemade signs to cheer on the Bears. (Click on the image above to see a larger version, or here for a photo gallery from the day.)

“Thank you very much for helping kids like me,” said one boy from Corpus Christi who is awaiting a heart transplant. “I appreciate it; this is very exciting,” said another TCH patient who, thanks to Baylor and some members of the BU family, was attending his first football game. (Houston’s KRIV Fox 26 sat down with one of the families for this interview, and Waco’s KWTX News 10 provided this report.)

Baylor also provided 450 t-shirts, pom-poms and tattoos directly to TCH for those children who could not leave the hospital. Some of those kids gathered together to watch the game and cheer on the Bears from the hospital. Texas Children’s Hospital is affiliated with the Baylor College of Medicine, which branched out from Baylor University in 1969 but still holds ties to BU.

Sic ’em to all those involved in helping these children enjoy the Texas Bowl!