Tuesday, January 8th 2013, 9:23 pm
You can never underestimate the power of Twitter and a boy's birthday wish! On Tuesday, that combination brought a smile to the face of a patient at The Children's Center with the help of a Thunder superstar.
OKC Thunder forward Kevin Durant has 3.3 million followers on Twitter. People are tweeting him constantly, but among all of the social media shout outs, one about a boy named Marcus stood out.
Marcus has lived at The Children's Center in Bethany his entire life. He will turn 15 years old Thursday. Since he was born, he has battled a form a muscular dystrophy that attacks every muscle in his body. He can't talk, but he understands what people say especially when they're talking about his hero, Kevin Durant.
"When they told him that Kevin Durant was on his way, he got real excited," Marcus' mom Rafael Ervin said. "His heart rate goes up when he watches the games because he's so excited."
Durant's visit to The Children's Center on Tuesday was his first. He says he got a lot out of the experience.
"I'm very blessed I got this opportunity," Durant said. "[Marcus is a] great kid. I'm just happy I'm here. To hear people say he's a big fan … means a lot."
Earlier in the week, The Children's Center tweeted a picture of Marcus to Durant letting him know Marcus wanted to meet him for his birthday. Durant says he first saw the tweet on Monday just before his game in Washington D.C. The next day, the basketball star was walking the halls of The Children's Center.
"For me, to come here and meet with Marcus and see all of the other kids as we're walking by, it shows that we have some really great people in this world," Durant said.
After signing a few autographs and giving Marcus a bunch of Thunder swag, Durant stayed to meet even more kids at The Children's Center.
"[The Children's Center is] a wonderful place, and they do wonderful things for all the patients here," Ervin said.
Doctors only gave Marcus three months to live when he was born. He has obviously defied the odds.
Durant says he'll be thinking of Marcus the next time he takes the court.
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