This Story of David Montgomery and Young Sick Fan is SO Beautiful

GM Ryan Pace has made it a policy to draft a certain type of character onto his Chicago Bears football team. He wants guys known for their leadership and their work ethic and are model citizens off the field. New running back David Montgomery exemplifies all of those traits.

Most examples come from a pure football sense, but there is one part of his background that perhaps showcases the type of person he is best. Back in November of 2017, Montgomery was closing in on his first 1,000-yard season for Iowa State. He was fast becoming one of the best players at that program in a long time.

It was then he came into contact with a young fan named Hunter Erb. His mother had contacted the program to explain that he was a huge fan but at 6-years old was suffering from a heart condition called pulmonary vein stenosis. Basically not enough blood was being carried between his lungs and heart and his odds of seeing adulthood was very low.

His dream was to score a touchdown for Iowa State, so his mother asked if the team might make it possible. They obliged.

David Montgomery made it his mission to help Hunter fight

When the day came, the team ran a running play to allow Hunter to score his touchdown. The man who was lead blocking for him? Montgomery himself. After the event, the running back felt his time with the young boy couldn't end there. There was more he could do.

"Once he scored, I got a thought in my head that God was pulling me toward him, and I needed to extend myself to talk to him more."

Montgomery visited Hunter in the hospital after that, helping him deal with the shots he had to get from doctors. The support the running back provided convinced Hunter's family to continue their fight to find ways to keep their son alive. It's taken all sorts of different and even radical treatments including a pacemaker and a stent, but the young boy still lives.

He was with Montgomery's family in Cincinnati, Ohio on the 26th when the Bears traded up to the #73 pick to make him their new running back. Now both friends and kindred spirits will be trading in their flaming red jerseys of Iowa State for the navy blue of the Monsters of the Midway. The fight for their dreams will continue as well.