Carter Drake couldn't stop grinning when he came face to face with his hero.
Magpies winger Shannan Chase took time out of his ITM Cup season preparation yesterday to visit his biggest fan in hospital. The meeting, at Hawke's Bay Hospital, followed a story in Saturday's Hawke's Bay Today Weekend in which the brave 7-year-old spoke of his wish to meet his hero. Chase was only too happy to oblige.
Carter has endured a lifetime of pain and suffering from a complex and evolving progressive disorder. Intestinal failure [IF] is a multisystem disease affecting all aspects of his life, causing lethargy, fatigue and pain in his muscles, abdomen, bowel and bones. He is hooked up to two machines 12 hours at night, which feed him through a tube to give the digestive system some relief. Carter is still in hospital with a throat infection that has knocked him back for the past week.
Carter said Chase was his favourite player "because he's good and he's fast". He believes he will be an All Black one day.
Members of the Magpies squad visited the hospital last week to attend the Hawke's Bay launch of a nationwide children's hospital appeal. All Carter wanted to know was, "Where's Shannan?"
