New York Knicks star Carmelo Anthony made Christmas a memorable one for a cancer patient on Sunday.
The All-Star forward — with an assist from his Carmelo Anthony Foundation, the Garden of Dreams Foundation and Kia – gave a new car to Jarrell Lara and his family hours before the Knicks' 119-114 loss to the Celtics at Madison Square Garden, ESPN reported.
Lara is 17 and suffers from Langerhans cell histiocytosis, a rare form of cancer that can damage tissue. Jarrell completed 18 months of chemotherapy treatment earlier this year, and the cancer is in remission. Anthony met Lara a year ago through the Make-A-Wish Foundation, Garden of Dreams and the Knicks, ESPN reported. Lara and his mother were stunned when Anthony handed the teen the keys to the car.
“I don't think you can put that in words," Anthony told EPSN. "That is a family that I have gotten a chance to know. My foundation donated a car to them, working with Kia [and the Garden of Dreams] ... and just to see the expression on their faces, the son, one of the kids wanted to cry but held it in ... that is what it is all about."
"I thought someone was punking me," Jarrell told MSGNetworks.com of his thoughts when Anthony took the family to the loading dock ramp at Madison Square Garden, where the car was parked. “It hasn't sunk in. It's a blessing from God. There are so many people [that] Carmelo Anthony can help, and he chose to help me.
“It's the greatest Christmas you could ask for.”
Lara’s mother Anne could not contain her emotions when she realized the car was for her son. She had quit her job as a medical assistant to care for her son, and Fernando Lara quit his minimum-wage job to work in the construction field while moving his family from their Washington Heights home in upper Manhattan to the more affordable South Bronx in order to better cover medical expenses, ESPN reported.
"She lost it," Anthony told ESPN. "I came [to the Garden] focused on the game and trying to come up with schemes to beat Boston and try to enjoy this game. [But] then you have to shift completely to just life in a snap of a finger. It was more emotional than anything.
"This is bigger than sport, bigger than basketball," Anthony told ESPN. "Two wonderful foundations coming together, making a family happy, making a dream come true. Giving them a day of happiness. The family, as you can see, the mom is still crying. It is a bit of a surprise. They had no idea it was coming, and I am happy that I was able to kind of make this happen."
About the Author
