Dwyane Wade embracing holiday season

By foxsports
Published

By TIM REYNOLDS
AP Sports Writer


SOUTH MIAMI, Fla. (AP) -- Dwyane Wade had some trying moments in 2010. The fight for custody of his kids continues, his divorce became final and he nearly left the Miami Heat.

Others, he knows, have it so much worse.

Wade spent Tuesday reaching out to those in need, taking 10 families on a shopping spree and visiting sick kids at a children's hospital with his Heat teammates. He's done similar things around the holidays for years, and said he's grown to appreciate it now more than ever.

"Moments like this and times like this really click and make you understand what life is about," he said. "When you get opportunities to be out in the community and change people's lives, it makes everything else feel like, 'Ah, so what?' This is what's important."

The Heat have emphasized charitable events, especially around holidays, for years.

All players and many staffers visited two hospitals Tuesday, a scheduled day off for the team. Parents who didn't know what awaited at Baptist Children's Hospital couldn't believe it when Wade, Jamaal Magloire, Carlos Arroyo, Eddie House, Juwan Howard, Joel Anthony and Dexter Pittman arrived. Other players, including LeBron James and Chris Bosh, visited another hospital.

"All they said was that some Heat players were coming," said Tiffany Fonseca, whose 6-year-old son Max was hospitalized with a severe cold. "I didn't think Dwyane Wade was coming."

When Wade entered the room, Max -- coincidentally dressed in Heat pajamas -- was stunned into silence. He was to be discharged a few hours later, but meeting Wade was the highlight of his day.

"It's so touching that they take the time," Tiffany Fonseca said. "They have their holidays to prep for, too."

Details of Tuesday's events were not publicized beforehand so the emphasis was on those who were actually benefiting. There was a time when seeing sick or needy kids would bring Wade down but, after eight years in the NBA, he's figured out how to make these events uplifting -- for the families involved and himself.

"I know that I'm able to make a big impact just by my presence," he said. "Some of them look at me as one of their own, part of their family. You walk into a room and get a big smile, that makes a huge difference for me."

Received 12/21/10 04:10 pm ET