Teacher who honored young cancer patient's memory goes to the Super Bowl

A local teacher will be going to the big game, all thanks to the school she teaches at.

The teacher got this once in a lifetime opportunity, after giving her students a lesson on what it is to be a hero. She was so touched by the story of a 10-year-old boy who recently lost his battle with cancer, that she decided to have her class do a hero project on the boy.

That small project eventually turned into a movement at the school, and that movement turned into much more than tickets for the big game.

"I know I'm just a kid from Garden Lakes, but I hope my letter made a difference," said Francisco Corral, a 5th Grade student at Garden Lakes Elementary in Avondale.

A difference it made indeed. Francisco's letter, along with the all the others from the 5th grade class at Garden Lakes.

"We responded, we reached out with the power of our pencil to try and help someone that was in need," said Victoria Walker, a 5th Grade teacher at Garden Lakes.

That person in need is Rebecca Custer. She's the mother of 10-year-old Lucas, or the "Dutch Destroyer", as he was called. Lucas passed away last year from cancer, but before passing away, he was able to meet his hero, who just happens to be Carson Wentz, quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles.

Walker was so inspired by the story, after watching a segment on ESPN, she decided to make a class hero project in honor of Lucas. Every student learned about Lucas, and wrote a letter to Rebecca and Wentz.

"I hope you can get better soon," reads Keira East. "I have empathy for you because you had to go through all of that bad feeling."

"We love your son and we felt so much empathy, I felt like I was there with you," reads Bethany Brown.

All of the letters were sent to Rebecca. The school's superintendent was so moved by Walkers kind act, she made it possible for her and her husband to go to the Big Game.

Although Walker is thrilled, she said it's the lifelong lessons her students have learned from this project that means the most.

"It's done a lot in my life," said Francisco. "It's changed how I feel and how I think about stuff, and it makes me more thankful that I'm here right now."

"He's our angel in heaven and he's here, and sometimes when we're teaching, someone might say I think Lucas would like that," said Walker. "He's just become a part of us, and I think he's going to be carried in the hearts of these children from here on out."

Although Walker is excited to watch the game and cheer on the Eagles, hopefully to a victory, she says she's most excited about meeting Rebecca and the rest of the Custer family, face-to-face for the first time.