Why Andy Lee wears #8

[Mr. Scot]

From the Browns website, linked by Bill Voth...

Lee switching numbers to honor his late infant daughter

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Lee's wife, Rachel, gave birth to Madelyn, their third child, on Jan. 27, one month after Lee attempted what would be his final punt in a 49ers uniform. On her way out via C-section, Madelyn swallowed some fluid. She struggled to breathe, was promptly given a breathing tube and was placed in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Because it was flu season, only Rachel and Lee were allowed inside the NICU to see her.

Madelyn's condition briefly improved but adversity hit on the fifth day when she came down with an infection. This was a battle she couldn't win.

"From there," Lee said, "the infection just pretty much took over her body and she passed away."

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The pain is still fresh, but Lee is quick to point to "blessings that have come out of the horrible situation."

"It's just kind of changed the mindset of, say, your son's outside and you don't feel like getting up and throwing the ball with him because you're tired. Well, get your butt up and go out there and do it because who knows?" Lee said. "You give everything you can to them because it shows that sometimes you don't know if something is going to happen.

"It's crazy how life is. In a way, that's one of the positive things to come out of it. Life is really fragile even though sometimes you don't think about it that way."

Lee and his wife started a charity called Madelyn's Fund Madelyn's Fund supporting families of infant and pediatric hospital patients.

Someone yesterday pointed out that he and Greg Olsen should hit it off well.

[0115]

gut wrenching. wishing him the best.

[Moorgan]

#8 is available looking at the roster on panthers.com and Lee is listed on the team but with no number. Shouldn't be an issue, him wearing that number.

[panthers55]

My wife used to work in the Neonatal intensive care unit in Raleigh early in her career.  The worst cases she had to deal with were normal full term births where something goes wrong and the baby is either permanently damaged or dies.  Totally unexpected and tragic. There is nothing you can say or do that will fix it.....  How good they can see something positive out of a terrible situation. 

[Khyber53]

Powerful story, I like this guy already. High character, needing a better chance -- seems to fit the mold of a long-term Panthers contributor. Hope everything works out for him.

On a side note, when my daughter was being born, she released her bowels in the amniotic sack. They had to deliver her without waking her so that she wouldn't cry out and then inhale, immediately infecting herself. I didn't even know that babies were born asleep, but she came out without a stir. Even though I knew that she wouldn't make a sound, when they caught her and quickly transferred her to the ICU team on hand to clean her off quickly, I had about 10 seconds of the worst fear of my life as my daughter lay there unmoving and not making a sound. And then... she cried out like a banshee stepping on a Lego and it all came crashing back to reality. 

I'm so very sorry for how their situation turned out. What he said, though, about going out with the kids even when you are tired, that hits me in the feels pretty hard. 

Good guy, glad we've got him.

[Hogmolliesmaht]

I can't even imagine what it would be like to go through that. My heart goes out to him and his wife.