BleedGopher
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per Chip:
A freshman student maneuvered through bodies already filling the bleachers at TCF Bank Stadium until she found a spot above the tunnel where the Gophers football team would appear before running onto the field to play Penn State last November.
And when the Gophers upset the fourth-ranked Nittany Lions to improve to 9-0, the freshman student joined thousands of others in storming the field.
It all felt a little familiar to Mia Gerold.
In 2011, she was a 10-year-old recovering from a rare form of brain cancer when she locked hands with coach Jerry Kill and led the Gophers out of that same tunnel in full sprint for the season opener.
She was known as Marvelous Mia back then. The miracle kid.
She’s all grown up now.
Mia just completed her freshman year at the U, where she is studying neuroscience. She turned 19 in May, celebrating in her front yard in Minneapolis as a parade of well-wishers drove by in cars.
And best of all, she’s healthy, a 10-year cancer survivor who overcame terrible odds. A doctor told her on her ninth birthday that she had a brain stem tumor called Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma, which primarily afflicts children.
She enjoyed being back on the Gophers football field celebrating a big win.
“That was an incredible day,” she said in a recent phone conversation. “I definitely won’t forget that. Experiencing those games as a student is pretty great. Being able to have a sense of school pride on top of everything has been really cool.”
www.startribune.com
Go Gophers!!
A freshman student maneuvered through bodies already filling the bleachers at TCF Bank Stadium until she found a spot above the tunnel where the Gophers football team would appear before running onto the field to play Penn State last November.
And when the Gophers upset the fourth-ranked Nittany Lions to improve to 9-0, the freshman student joined thousands of others in storming the field.
It all felt a little familiar to Mia Gerold.
In 2011, she was a 10-year-old recovering from a rare form of brain cancer when she locked hands with coach Jerry Kill and led the Gophers out of that same tunnel in full sprint for the season opener.
She was known as Marvelous Mia back then. The miracle kid.
She’s all grown up now.
Mia just completed her freshman year at the U, where she is studying neuroscience. She turned 19 in May, celebrating in her front yard in Minneapolis as a parade of well-wishers drove by in cars.
And best of all, she’s healthy, a 10-year cancer survivor who overcame terrible odds. A doctor told her on her ninth birthday that she had a brain stem tumor called Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma, which primarily afflicts children.
She enjoyed being back on the Gophers football field celebrating a big win.
“That was an incredible day,” she said in a recent phone conversation. “I definitely won’t forget that. Experiencing those games as a student is pretty great. Being able to have a sense of school pride on top of everything has been really cool.”
'Marvelous Mia' is all grown up, and back at Gophers games
As a 10-year-old with brain cancer, Mia Gerold formed a bond with the Gophers football team. Now she is a Gopher herself.
www.startribune.com
Go Gophers!!
