BUFFALO, N.Y. — For as long as Mari Serrano can remember, her son Joshua had been struggling with sickness. Born with epilepsy, he suffered daily seizures and fits.
“I don’t think a child should be as restricted as he was. He was always in a home in a room with lights not too bright or too flashy," Serrano said.
But the one thing she says that helped Joshua through those tough times was watching the Buffalo Bills, especially when his favorite player Dion Dawkins came on the field.
“The way that I had explained to him was that he’s defense so I was Joshua's defense and he was my quarterback and I had to make sure that no one would get to him," said Serrano. "After that, he was his guy.”
As Joshua grew, so did his love for the team, and he was able to meet his favorite player during a visit to Oishei Children's Hospital.
But at age 16, Joshua's seizures took a toll.
On September 26, he lost his battle with epilepsy. His mother knew he wanted to be buried in his favorite player's jersey but every store was sold out and she couldn’t order one in time for his funeral. Desperate to fulfill her son's last wish, she turned to social media to see if anyone could help.
Within hours, the post made it to Dawkins who remembered Joshua from a previous visit he made to the children’s hospital. He sent a signed jersey overnight with a special message for the boy with who he bonded years ago.
“My phone has been buzzing, a lot of people sent me this message about Joshua and if that’s what this kid and family wants, I’m all for it," said Dawkins. "This is way bigger than football. I'm honored to do something like this, it's amazing."
Joshua was laid to rest with number 73 on his chest surrounded by family and friends in Bill's gear. His mother says she’s overwhelmed by all the messages of support she received from the community including an additional jersey for her and a facetime call from Dawkins.
She says she’s beyond grateful that her plea didn’t go unheard and feels Joshua can truly rest in peace.
“It was another thing off the bucket list for Joshua and it meant so much it was so surreal to me," Serrano said. "Thank you so much from the bottom of my heart. I'm so grateful that you did this for my son.”