ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (KDVR) – An 81-year-old Denver Broncos superfan who is battling cancer will be going to her first ever game, thanks to UCHealth and the Broncos.
Hollie "Nanny" Oden got a behind-the-scenes private tour of the Broncos practice facility, UCHealth Training Center, Monday afternoon.
“I’m so excited! I hardly slept last night,” Oden said as the tour of Broncos headquarters was starting. “I’ve been a Bronco fan for over 50 years, I’ve never been to a game, though."
The great-grandma from Littleton is a cancer patient at UCHealth who has battled multiple myeloma, a bone and blood cancer, for 10 years.
“As long as I can stay in treatment, we hope to just keep it at bay,” she said.
Her cancer is not curable, but that doesn’t dampen her spirit.
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Oden, along with her daughters and friends, got to see the team's trophies and rings. They toured the press rooms, the outdoor and indoor training fields, a locker room and weight room.
But that’s not all. UCHealth and the Broncos had a surprise. On behalf of the Broncos, Paula Freund with UCHealth presented Oden with a basket of goodies that included four tickets to the Dec. 29 Broncos game against the Raiders.
Oden was overwhelmed and emotional. Crying with her head in her hands, she said, “I cannot believe it. I’m going to a Bronco game at last. I’m going sick, or not, I don't care."
Still emotional from the big surprise, Oden was then taken to the players' cafeteria where she was able to meet her absolute favorite player, Phillip Lindsay.
“It is a dream,” she said.
It was quite an emotional day for the Broncos superfan, and one that she will certainly not forget.
