Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzpatrick published an open letter in Sports Illustrated, offering prayers for Sen. John McCain, who is battling brain cancer, CNN reported.
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McCain, 81, was diagnosed with a brain tumor in July.
In his letter, Fitzgerald recalls a 2013 visit to Vietnam where he viewed the places where McCain was tortured as a prisoner of war during the Vietnam War. McCain spent six Christmases as a POW, CNN reported
“I saw the very jail cell where he was held as a POW and I tried to imagine what it must have been like to be him. I took a photo of myself next to his flight suit, the suit he was wearing when he got shot down,” Fitzgerald wrote. “So powerful. So meaningful. Those images will never leave my mind.”
Fitzgerald wrote that McCain was facing another battle.
“This time it's with cancer, and the treatment he's undergoing is exhausting.” Fitzgerald wrote. “I'll wish him a Merry Christmas today, and I pray he lives another 20 years.
“As soon as my boys are of age, I'll tell them stories about the quality of the man I've gotten to know. I'll tell them: Senator John McCain will be revered and respected for as long as the United States of America has a place in this world, and his legacy will outlive us all.”