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Lions' Matt Stafford gives 'MNF' package to patient, family

Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford has made a $15,000 donation to Mott Children's Hospital, sending a family to Chicago to watch him play in a Monday Night Football game.

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Stafford said Monday he did it to give patient Faith Falzon of Dexter, Mich., and her family something to look forward to after a couple rough years. She has a bowel disorder without a cure.

Stafford bid on a package donated by ESPN announcer and Ann Arbor resident Mike Tirico. It gives Faith, her parents and her brother, Will, six tickets to the Lions-Bears game on Oct. 22, two nights of accommodations, dinner and a behind-the-scenes tour with Tirico.

"As (Stafford) won the package, he turned to Will and said, 'There you go buddy, you go to Chicago, and take your family.' The look on my sons face, I will never forget," wrote Faith's mother, Mary Ann Bell, in a blog post. "His chin began to quiver, he was about to cry. He quickly jumped up and gave Matt a hug, and thanked him over and over again."

Stafford made the donation Saturday during a weekend of events in Ann Arbor that raised $1.35 million for Mott hospital, part of the University of Michigan health system.

"They have been through so much in the past couple years, and to see how much they all supported each other and Faith through their tough times was really inspiring," Stafford said in a text message to the Detroit News. "I wanted to give them something they could really be excited about and something I know they deserved."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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