To Rebecca, with
love
David Beckham brings sunshine into a 19-year-old's very
dark days
AMILTONThe caller spoke in a soft voice, thick with an English
accent. Brenda Johnstone thought it sounded familiar, though she
couldn't quite place it.
"Can I speak to Rebecca Johnstone, please?" he asked.
Brenda didn't think it was a good idea. These are rough days for
her daughter. The kind you pray you and especially your children
will never see.
Her beautiful 19-year-old has cancer. Three years ago, a mole on
her right collarbone that doctors kept telling her was nothing
turned out to be malignant. By the time the truth was discovered,
it had spread. Soon her body was fighting a losing battle against
an enemy with no soul.
Heartbreak doesn't begin to describe the resulting anguish to those
who love her. Particularly since doctors have told the family that,
without some kind of miracle, time is now being measured in days
rather than weeks or months.
So when that call came last Wednesday morning, Brenda wasn't about
to disturb her sleeping daughter. Especially the day after surgery
to remove a cancerous tonsil had made her even more
uncomfortable.
No problem. The caller politely said he understood. He even offered
to call back at a better time. Then he dropped the bombshell.
"It's David Beckham," he said.
Long pause.
"I just kind of went quiet for a second," mom says. "Then I said,
`You've got to be kidding me.'"
Nope.
Rebecca's aunt knows her niece is a huge fan. Has posters on her
walls. Reads everything she can about him. Follows the English
star's career. Loves the way he plays. Even shares a moniker. When
she played, her teammates added an M to the end of her nickname,
Becca, to make her sound just like her soccer idol.
So, searching for something she could do to lift some spirits, Aunt
Jenny did some digging and found one of the star's representatives.
Then made arrangements for a call, though she was never convinced
it would actually happen.
Yet here he was on the phone. The same voice mom had just heard on
TV as news of him signing with the Los Angeles Galaxy leaked
out.
By now she was excitedly almost running through the family's East
Mountain house. Her husband, Tom, nearly fell off the couch as she
flew by and he caught wind of what was happening.
A former semi-pro player, he couldn't believe the call wasn't a
hoax and started grilling her with questions even as they walked
into Rebecca's room.
Their daughter was asleep. Gently rousing her, Rebecca said she
didn't want to talk to anyone. Her throat was raspy and sore and
she was in no mood for socializing.
"How about David Beckham?" mom asked. "Her eyes kind of
popped."
And so she did. After three years of hell during which everything
had seemed to go wrong and every attempt to make things better had
only made things worse, the moment she put the phone to her ear,
the dark clouds parted and a beacon of light flooded into her
life.
In the most strained of voices, Becca and Becks talked about
soccer. He asked how she was doing. Told her he'd heard she was a
big fan. Even mentioned that he liked her nickname. He asked if
there was anything he could do for her. When she said no, he asked
if he could send her something. She didn't say no to that. Then he
told her to get in touch if she needed anything.
Four minutes after saying hello, she wished him good luck this
season and hung up.
But the story doesn't end there. The buzz from the call gave the
entire family a jolt of positive energy it hadn't had in
months.
"The house was electrified for the whole day," dad says.
And the next. And the one after that.
Even now as he talks about it and repeatedly expresses his
gratitude for Beckham's "touch of class" that brought his daughter
such joy, he lights up. Until reality bites again.
Rebecca isn't well enough to talk about the call now. Once a
promising sweeper who made the elite Hamilton Sparta soccer club at
12 despite having never played the game before and who was often
the best player on her team after that she's struggling. She has
almost no voice and has been suffering through a few horrendous
weeks.
But just when she needed it most, Beckham intervened again.
On Monday, a parcel arrived from Madrid, where Beckham has been
playing. Inside was one of his authentic Real Madrid game jerseys.
On the back, next to the number, he'd written: To Rebecca, with
love, David Beckham, 23.
Eventually it'll be framed and hung in her room. But not yet. She
wants to be able to touch it still. To have a connection to the
hero who made a difference in her life.
Dad's using it a different way. As a motivation for her to continue
fighting.
"I told her, `You get better and we'll go see him in person so you
can thank him.'"
She liked that idea.
Pray that she'll get the chance.
http://www.thestar.com/Sports/article/175193
