Humans of NYCFC: Diah El-Jamal

Our latest installment of Humans of NYCFC profiles a very brave and inspiring young fan of the team…

Following on the heels of our profile of Dr. Julia Glade Bender, a leading pediatric oncologist and a Founding Member of Hope & Heroes (and NYCFC!), we met Diah El-Jamal, a patient who is also part of Hopes & Heroes’s charitable work. .

A huge NYCFC fan, Diah was present at the 1-0 win over Sporting KC. Along with Dr. Glade Bender, he went pitchside before kick-off to watch the warm-ups just meters away from the action.

Hope & Heroes is a charitable non-profit that supports the lifesaving work of Columbia University Medical Center, where researchers and clinicians are revolutionizing the treatment and care of children with cancer and blood disorders.

Without any further ado, this is Diah’s story…

I’ve been following NYCFC since the start of 2016 but I only got to go to one match last season. I couldn’t go to any of the playoff games because I was getting my chemo. This is my first match this season, but I hope to go to many more!

The thing I love most about the games is the atmosphere – it’s crazy! There’s so much lighting and the smoke is insane, it’s really cool to be pitchside to experience it all. I feel so lucky, it’s a very rare experience – it’s amazing.

I think the team is a lot better this year. I think Patrick Vieira is an awesome coach and the player I’m most excited to see is Jack Harrison – he’s very young and he moves a lot and scores goals.

Sitting just down the bench from Patrick for the match will be great – hopefully he mistakes me for one of the players and I’ll get on the pitch to receive a couple of passes from Pirlo!

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Hope & Heroes’ mission is to fund the life-saving work on childhood cancer and blood disorders at Columbia University Medical Center—including cutting-edge research, support for families, and care that always puts children first.

Hope & Heroes works with the team at Columbia to create a treatment experience that not only gives patients their best chance to overcome their disease but also allows them to experience as much of their childhoods as possible.

September is National Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, and NYCFC is proud to partner with Hope & Heroes this month and every month. To learn more and join NYCFC in supporting Hope & Heroes, visit http://www.hopeandheroes.org/nycfc

READ:Humans of NYCFC Series (So Far)