Here is all that you need to know about James Harden helping a student after the East Lansing shooting incident.
John Hao, a Michigan State University (MSU) foreign student from China who is 20 years old, was shot in the back on February 13 during the shooting incident in East Lansing, severing his spinal cord and leaving him paralysed from the chest down. Also, Hao has critical injuries to his lungs and remains in the intensive care unit. Further, Hao faces a mammoth recovery road in the months and years ahead.
Philadelphia 76ers star player, James Harden, came to know about Hao’s story and subsequently learned that Hao was also a fan of Harden.
Notably, Harden came to know about Hao after seeing a fundraising campaign on GoFundMe for Hao. Immediately after learning about Hao, Harden made an undisclosed donation to the fundraising campaign dedicated to Hao.
At the time of writing, Hao’s GoFundMe campaign has raised over $412,000.
James Harden helped East Lansing shooting victim John Hao in a unique way
33-year-old James Harden did not just stop at donating to Hao’s GoFundMe campaign. Harden took a step further and did something that kind of made Hao’s dream come true.
76ers star guard, Harden sent Hao a pair of game-worn sneakers, gave his personal cellphone number, and called him over FaceTime to provide words of encouragement and reassurance.
“Everything will work itself out, be strong,” Harden said. “You’re alright, you’re alright. I promise you are. I love when you’re smiling too. I love when you’re smiling, alright? I’m with you.
“I know it’s tough right now but you have to stay physically strong, you know what I mean? You just gotta think positive things and keep pushing and keep fighting. I got you. I got some gifts for you too. I got some things coming your way, hopefully give you some encouragement and make you smile a little bit, you know what I mean? Let me know if you need anything else.”
Later, after the 76ers vs. Grizzlies game, Harden spoke about his call with Hao to reporters:
“The more I can encourage and rub off this energy that I have and give him hope, I feel like that’s what I’m here for, and that’s what I’ve got this platform for. Hopefully he can recover and bounce back out of that sooner than later, but I gave him my number, so whenever he ever feels like he needs anything he can call me and I check up on him.” said Harden. Furthermore, Harden is also hopeful that someday Hao could sit on the court and be a guest of his at a game.
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