How 10-year-old Ramie Darling found support amid cancer battle from Mac Jones, Boston sports
"Ramie has said a few times that Florida gave him cancer, but Boston has cured his cancer. We're Boston fans for life."
FOXBOROUGH — Ramie Darling and his family hail from Vero Beach, Florida.
But you wouldn’t be able to discern it upon glancing at Ramie’s wardrobe on Friday night.
Draped in a blue hoodie and a Mac Jones jersey, Ramie’s love for the Patriots stands as resolute as the smile seemingly permanently etched across his face.
For Ramie’s father, Ramie Sr., his 10-year-old son’s unwavering positivity – and love for Boston sports — comes as little surprise, even amid the trials that he has gone through.
“Ramie has said a few times that Florida gave him cancer, but Boston has cured his cancer. So we’re Boston fans for life,” Ramie Sr., said.
Since being diagnosed with Hepatoblastoma — a rare liver cancer that commonly affects children — back in December 2022, Darling and his family have found a new support base 1,300 miles from home up in Boston.
Through the ups and downs, Darling has found many in his corner, including the doctors, nurses, and staff at both the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and The Jimmy Fund.
But now, Darling has another supporter and friend in Mac Jones — another Florida native who has found a foundation of support in New England.
“We’ve met so many people and everybody’s been so positive and supportive,” Ramie Sr. said. “And to have somebody like Mac, who’s such a big deal, come out and support him is just the next level.”
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After Ramie’s initial diagnosis last winter, the Darling family immediately sought out the help of Dr. Allison O’Neil, who helps lead the pediatric liver tumor center at the Jimmy Fund Clinic.
Darling’s treatment has required both Ramie and his father to live in the Boston area for the past eight months. Over that span, Ramie has undergone months of chemotherapy, liver surgery, and a full liver transplant.
Ramie now only has two more months of scheduled chemotherapy as part of his active treatment.
“I don’t even know if I have words for how good they have been,” Ramie Sr. said of the staff at Dana-Farber and The Jimmy Fund. “Everybody in the entire facility that we’ve interacted with. Definitely our doctor all the way through the nursing staff, even to the security guards every morning high-fiving us when we get to the hospital.
“It really is the whole team and not just the few people that we see. Everybody that we talk to is just positive and uplifting and just makes us feel welcome. The professionalism of what they actually do, too. They saved his life and really our whole family’s life as well.”
During those long, trying days of treatment, both Ramie and his father spent many hours taking in TV. Naturally, sports highlights were a routine highlight in a city like Boston.
“We’ve just done a lot of couch-sitting here,” Ramie said of the reasoning behind his Boston sports fandom. “A city like Boston is a big sports city, so might as well like sports.”
“We’ve just done a lot of couch-sitting here,” Ramie said of the reasoning behind his Boston sports fandom. “A city like Boston is a big sports city, so might as well like sports.”
A football fan, it didn’t take long for Ramie to gravitate toward Mac Jones — nor did it take long for the Patriots QB to hear of Ramie’s story.
Last Saturday, Ramie received a surprise FaceTime call from Jones, inviting him to attend the Patriots’ in-stadium practice on Friday evening.
“I know it’s gotta be hard, but I think the biggest thing for me is I want to be able to form a relationship with you be friends with you,” Jones said on the FaceTime call, adding: “Whatever you want to do, it’s your day — you’ll be able to have the VIP access.”
During Friday’s training-camp practice, both Ramie and his father had front-row seats to the action — taking in the team’s extended team scrimmage along the sideline.
Before practice ramped up, the Darlings were visited by Jones and a number of players, including linebackers Chris Board, Jahlani Tavai, and Calvin Munson.
And as soon as the final huddle broke on the turf at Gillette Stadium, Jones made his way back to the Darlings to chat and sign autographs, and exchange gifts. Center David Andrews also arrived to sign a football before Darling had the chance to run out onto the field.
“It’s so special,” Ramie Sr. said. “It’s so good seeing a smile on his face considering everything that we’ve been through and not knowing where we’d be right now. … It just fills my heart with joy seeing him so happy.”
Darling’s now-autographed Jones jersey stands as the crown jewel of the haul that he received from the Patriots QB.
“I’ll probably hang it up in my room,” Darling said of his new gear.
But Ramie also had a gift for Jones: A custom card featuring marlins and other callbacks to their shared home state, along with a message of encouragement inside.
“I made a card for him — just saying ‘Good luck, hope you win the Super Bowl and can’t wait to hang out with you again,” Ramie said.
Ramie will get his wish next week.
As part of Jones’ FaceTime call, he also revealed that the Darlings are invited to Thursday’s preseason home game against the Houston Texans. Both Ramie and his father will have company, as Arbella Insurance is also flying up the rest of his family to attend the game.
It’s just the latest wave of good news for Ramie, the fourth-grader from Florida who hasn’t lost his enthusiasm — and smile — amid the challenges of the past year.
“His strength has truly been unbelievable through the whole treatment process,” Ramie Sr. said. “Never complaining, always physically down but just going through it with a positive attitude and it’s been an inspiration for definitely me and a lot of the adult people around.
“We have problems in our life, but for him to go through what he’s gone through with the attitude that he’s had has just been unbelievable.”
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