Girl Who Can't Speak, Walk Gets Hockey Lesson from Chicago Blackhawk
Duncan Keith gave a special skating lesson for the #WhatsYourGoal campaign.
— -- Fan-favorite Chicago Blackhawk player Duncan Keith took one pint-size fan out for a very special skating lesson as part of the team's #WhatsYourGoal.
The hockey defenseman recently greeted Cammy Babiarz, 5, a young fan suffering from Rhett's syndrome, according to Yahoo News. The neurological disorder usually results in children first progressing normally and then losing control of parts of their body and the ability to walk, according to the National Institute of Health.
Cammy's father Bill Babiarz said the disease has left Cammy unable to walk, talk or purposely use her hands.
"It’s a pretty terrible disorder," he told ABC News.
While Cammy can't talk, she can still laugh and smile. A picture of the smiling girl sent by Cammy's mom to the Blackhawk's #WhatYourGoal social media campaign got their attention. Cammy's parents had one request.
"Nothing would make her happier than scoring a goal with an assist from her favorite player, me," Keith explained in the video.
As a surprise Keith brought along a pair of tiny hockey skates when he met Cammy so that the girl could skate for the very first time.
While Cammy couldn't speak clearly, she was able to ask questions through a machine called a Tobii that can read her eye movements so that she can speak. Through the Tobii Cammy asked an important question for any hockey player, "How many teeth have you lost?"
"Oh I lost 10 teeth," Duncan answered in the video.
Duncan then helped Cammy skate on the ice, make her first goal and even chop at the goalie with her her hockey stick.
Cammy's parents said the smiling and laughing girl immediately recognized her hockey hero.
“She’s 5. She loves the Hawks, but we were a little worried she might not recognize him off the ice,” Bill Babiarz told Yahoo News. “But she was star-struck.”
He said during her day on the ice Cammy was "happy all day" and "smiling all day."
