Geno Lewis: Scoring a touchdown for compassion
My precious wife Anne is stricken with glioblastoma, an incurable form of brain cancer. Kind neighbours have rallied to provide emergency support when she collapses or is otherwise indisposed or de-railed. One such kind soul is Geno Lewis, a star wide receiver for the Ottawa Redblacks, the city’s professional football team. As it happens, Geno lives a couple of doors from our apartment. He embraces the opportunity to help care for my sorely afflicted loved one.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geno_Lewis
Geno clearly stands as a beacon of compassion and leadership both on and off the field. His humanitarian initiatives have touched countless lives throughout the Ottawa community and beyond, reflecting his genuine commitment to making a difference. Whether he’s volunteering at local shelters, championing youth mentorship programs, or spearheading fundraising efforts for vital causes, Geno consistently exemplifies the values of empathy, generosity, and social responsibility. His unwavering dedication to uplifting others transforms each initiative into an opportunity for hope, fostering unity and resilience across diverse groups. Geno Lewis’s efforts not only inspire his teammates and fans but also set a powerful example for athletes everywhere: that true greatness is measured by the positive impact one leaves on the world. Geno is renowned for his commitment to using his platform to help others and “make things happen” for those less fortunate.
As a World Vision ambassador, Geno participated in a mission to Kenya, visiting refugee camps and local communities to witness educational programs funded by the charity. The experience was life-changing for him, making him appreciate everyday resources and inspiring a desire to return and help build sports facilities like basketball courts or football fields.
When we visited Geno, he told us that with a large family himself, “it’s always been about the kids and making sure they’re good,” emphasizing the importance of guiding and supporting the next generation. He has also lived through the harrowing ordeal of seeing close family members felled by cancer. So he’s onside with Anne when it comes to assisted caregiving.
Coda:
Here’s a funny anecdote to conclude this little story:
Our son Dan is a big Ottawa Redblacks fan and in the early summer of 2024, well before Anne was devastated by cancer, he convinced her to attend a game. She couldn’t make heads or tails of the sport; in fact, she reported that she spotted a lot of tails but very few heads.
To Anne, football – be it the American or Canadian version – seemed less a strategic sport and more a high-stakes ant colony experiment gone off the rails. For her, the moment the whistle blew, a cohort of hulking men in mismatched armour scattered helter-skelter across a vast green expanse, only to promptly converge in a tangled heap like toddlers fighting over the last Smartie at a birthday party. The ball, rarely visible, seemed to exist purely as a rumour, sometimes flung with dramatic flair, but mostly buried beneath a mountain of bodies that could rival the Rockies. Coaches on the sidelines barked indecipherable codes, referees tossed flags like confetti, and fans erupted as if the fate of the loonie itself hung in the balance. To Anne, football appeared to be a spectacle of organized mayhem, where the only obvious rule is that chaos reigns supreme, and the only clear winner is the beer vendor cashing in on all the induced hysteria.
Yet she now has a guardian angel who’ll help intercept her before she hits the turf.
Your friend,
Robert
https://robertmcbrydeauthor.com/
