5-year-old with Leukemia inspires Jonny Gomes, Red Sox

FRAMINGHAM, Mass. (MyFoxBoston.com) -- Brady Wein is a 5-year-old boy with many talents. Hitting, catching, and bravely battling Leukemia since he was just three-months-old.

"People didn't even know that babies could get cancer. That's how not talked about pediatric cancer is," said Rachel Wein, Brady's mother.

Brady has Acute myeloid leukemia, or AML, a form of cancer that affects the blood, and spent his first two years of life in a hospital. He's had two bone marrow transplants, several rounds of chemotherapy, and is currently on an experimental drug trial.

But Brady's parents, Rachel and Mike, say he's been their source of strength all along. Smiles and laughs are his armor in his fight with cancer. Brady's age is an unexpected advantage in his battle with cancer.

He was a happy baby. If he got sick from the treatments, by the time we had him cleaned up he had forgotten he was sick 20 minutes ago because he just wants to play," Rachel said.

It's Brady's love of playing sports that inspired dad Mike to name his lacrosse organization Brady's Bunch, which focuses on teaching good sportsmanship and charity.

And one fateful day in an Arizona gym, the state the family was living in at the time, Brady inspired then-Oakland A's hitter Jonny Gomes.

"Brady goes over, hands Jonny a lacrosse stick, and Johnny's like, 'Nah, I'll use the glove. Next thing you know, they start playing catch,'" Mike said.

Gomes and the Weins kept in touch, and months after Jonny signed with the Red Sox, the Weins moved from Arizona back to Mike's hometown of Framingham. Just in time for the Sox to sweep into the World Series, and for this moment at the top of the sixth in Game 4.

With his sign, Gomes honored Wein's "Brady's Bunch" on a national level, and then hit his huge homer.

"I think there was some angels above the stadium looking down on me and looking down on everyone else," Gomes said after the game.

Jonny's move to put the sign up on national television came as surprise for the Wein family.

"I knew Jonny was behind us, but I didn't know it was like that," he said.

The entire team got behind Brady's Bunch, wearing the organization's shorts and socks in support. And Brady has become something of a little celebrity at Fenway, hanging out with the players and even signing autographs on occasion.

"Go Red Sox! Thank you, Jonny! Now what?" Brady laughed.

Now, the Sox are ready to take on the series with their secret weapon, Brady Wein.

For more information on the organization and how you can support it, visit BradysBunchLax.com.

Cox Media Group