KANSAS CITY, Mo. — When the Kansas City Chiefs make their first draft pick this year, it will be a Liberty North High School student reading the selection.
It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for a young man who’s battled not one but two life-threatening diseases.
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When Justin Lavergne recently visited the Chiefs locker room, he thought he was simply going on a tour of the facilities.
That is, until offensive lineman Trey Smith showed up with the ultimate surprise.
"Hey, what’s going on, my man? I hope you enjoy your Arrowhead visit so far," Smith told Lavergne at the time. "We’re really happy to have you guys out here. We’ve got a little swag bag for you, a Microsoft tablet, and, you know, I think we have a jersey with your name on it. You’re gonna need this because you guys are going to Detroit. You’re going to make a first draft selection, let’s go."
That moment was not only a huge surprise for the 18-year-old, it offers a bright spot in what has otherwise been a difficult few years.
"In 2021, I was just throwing up a little bit and was thinking I had acid reflux," Lavergne said. "They gave me some meds and that didn’t work, so we went back in and they took my blood pressure, and it turns out it was super high, so I went to the hospital for a few weeks and got diagnosed."
Lavergne and his family soon learned he had a congenital heart defect and was suffering from kidney failure.
First he had to undergo heart surgery, then in 2022 a kidney transplant.
"As soon as I heard he had a kidney disease, I raised my hand immediately," Troy Lavergne, Justin's father, said. "I was like, 'Hey, test me. Test me.'"
His dad was a match, and the transplant was successful.
These days he’s doing much better and looking forward to heading to college in the fall.
But for his mom, she’s well aware of all he missed during his high school career while being in and out of the hospital.
That’s why she reached out to the Make-A-Wish Foundation to see if they could do something special for her son.
"Seeing all he couldn’t do, we wanted to find something he could, and that he would enjoy, and something that would give him joy," Joy Lavergne, Justin's mother, said. "Judging by Justin‘s reaction, this big surprise certainly did the trick."
Her son confirmed it did just that.
"Just being able to have a part of NFL’s history even if it’s just a small portion, it’s just gonna be the coolest thing for me," Justin Lavergne said.
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