Tall Utah Jazz players stoop to befriend Primary Children's patients

SALT LAKE CITY — Patrick Cronin was trying to walk his way out of a morphine fog when he saw the Jazz players standing in the hallway of Primary Children's Medical Center.

The 13-year-old rushed back to his room and waited to see if the man whose name he'd spent four and a half weeks learning would be the one to visit him. When he was not, Cronin and his family went looking for Gordon Hayward.

"This is the best day," said Kim Cronin as her son beamed at Hayward. "Aren't you glad the morphine wore off?"

Hayward was handing out autographed basketballs and posing for pictures with the rest of his teammates and the Jazz coaching staff. The team visits Primary Children Medical Center and Shriner's Hospital every year at Christmas time.

While the players participate in a lot of service projects and special events throughout the year, the holiday visit to the young patients and their families is just a little bit different.

"This is special because it's during the holidays," said Hayward. "This kind of slows things down. It's cool to be able to brighten the day for people. It's definitely special."

It was a moment of happiness for children who are hoping they are well enough to go home for Christmas. While some were too young or too sick to understand just who was visiting them, Cronin was thrilled to not only meet Hayward, but to have a brief chat and a few pictures.

The seventh grader became a fan when he and his family were on a trip and stopped to have lunch at ESPN Zone restaurant. There he watched Hayward lead his college team, Butler University, on an improbable run to the finals in 2010.

"He loves basketball and he loves Gordon," said his mom, Kim, who fought back tears as she explained just what the visit meant to Patrick, who suffers from Apraxia, a disorder that makes it difficult to learn to speak. He was in the hospital after undergoing an emergency appendectomy.

When the family went to an autograph signing at EnergySolutions Arena last year, Patrick decided to learn to say his hero's name.

"He worked on his name for four and a half weeks," said his mom. "Just so he could say, 'Gordon Hayward, Utah Jazz.'"

Hayward said he was humbled to hear Patrick's story.