This Chiefs player never turns down one personal gift that kids offer him. Here’s why
Paramedics had saved her daughter. But Shannon Helgerud still worried about Azalea’s life.
The worst was behind them now. It was December 2021, and Azalea — 6 at the time — started wobbling around the staircase in their Raymore, Missouri, house before becoming unresponsive. In an ambulance, a medical professional noticed Azalea’s breath was fruity, leading to an accurate diagnosis.
Diabetic ketoacidosis. Azalea — basically in a coma — desperately needed IVs and fluids while getting transported to Children’s Mercy in Kansas City.
She stabilized soon after. The family spent five days at the hospital before leaving with the reality of their new circumstances.
Azalea was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes (T1D). The incurable autoimmune disease — caused when the pancreas stops producing insulin and fails to control blood-sugar levels — would require constant monitoring for the rest of Azalea’s life.
Before that week, Shannon says she didn’t even know what diabetes was.
“When the diagnosis first happened,” Shannon said, “I knew life would never be the same.”
That didn’t stop Shannon from searching for outside inspiration.
She researched others with T1D and even found an article about Kansas City Chiefs tight end Noah Gray, who had made the NFL after his own discovery.
A year later, after the Chiefs defeated the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LVII, Shannon dialed up her own version of a Hail Mary. She had a friend make a red Chiefs shirt for Azalea — with a diabetes awareness ribbon on the front and Gray’s name and No. 83 on the back — just before the team’s victory parade downtown.
Shannon memorized Gray’s face in pictures, then arrived with Azalea at 6 a.m. to get a front-row seat.
They had a gift for Noah — if he saw them among the hundreds of thousands there.
The first question
When Noah Gray was first diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes in 2018 — at age 18 — one of the first questions in his mind was an honest one: “Why did this happen to me?”
Gray was stressed that he would have to eat different foods while also continuously tracking what he ate.
Since then, however, the 25-year-old says his mindset has changed.
“I thank God every day he gave me diabetes,” Gray told The Star, “so that I could make an impact.”
In his fourth season with the Chiefs, Gray admits he’s “no superstar” — especially when compared to celebrity teammate Travis Kelce.
When he sees his No. 83 on a shirt or sign, then, he usually knows there’s a deeper connection.
And lately, it’s also meant he’s about to get one of his favorite snacks.
Requesting a ‘trade’
His family’s Christmas present was to see the Chiefs in their Christmas road game at Pittsburgh, and 11-year-old Collin Larson figured it would be a good time to try a well-used hockey trick.
NHL fans have made it a tradition to bring food to games, holding up signs to ask players to trade either candy or cookies for a puck.
So why not try it with Noah Gray?
Collin, from Sioux Falls, South Dakota, had grown up a Chiefs fan alongside older brother, Jayce. After being diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at age 3, however, Collin also gravitated to having a favorite player on the team.
That would be Gray — and Collin knew exactly the type of treat he’d be interested in.
On Christmas morning, the family went to work. Mother Katie had packed items to create a sign, and Collin made his way to the family’s seats behind the bench with a neon green poster:
“#83 T1D Fan,” it read. “Trade fruit snacks for gloves?”
Fruit snacks have become a shared experience for many with Type 1 diabetes; they can be used for a quick sugar boost whenever blood glucose levels drop.
The Chiefs offense was on the other side of the field, but Gray could still hear the Larson family calling to him. Late in the Chiefs’ 29-10 win, Gray made eye contact and signaled to Collin, indicating he’d make it over after the game.
Collin’s father, Dustin, still wasn’t sure if it would happen — especially because the tunnel to the Chiefs’ locker room was on the opposite end of the field.
“When I saw that, I turned to Katie. I’m like, ‘He’s not coming back,’” Dustin said. “It’s cold. I’m sure they just want to get to the locker room.”
But sure enough, after some handshakes on the field — and a postgame prayer at the 50-yard line — Gray made his way back over to the Larson family.
Dustin could see that Collin was shaking.
“Having someone know the struggles he goes through, too ... it’s just really cool and it made his day,” Dustin said. “Like, he was beaming.”
Gray told Collin he’d been diagnosed the same year. Meanwhile, Collin came through with his promise, giving Gray some of his Mott’s fruit snacks.
Sure enough, Gray said those exact ones were his favorite.
Gray signed Collin’s poster, then handed over his game-used gloves before returning to the Chiefs’ locker room.
Dustin said Collin kept a firm grip on the gift from Gray — all the way through the family’s three-mile walk back to their hotel.
Meeting ‘one of her idols’
When the final Chiefs double-decker bus parked in front of them, Shannon and Azalea Helgerud figured Noah Gray had passed them already.
It could’ve happened easily. During the team’s Super Bowl parade, some players celebrated inside the bus. Others passed on the opposite side of the street.
In an instant, though, everything changed. Gray hopped out of the bus ahead of them. He started high-fiving fans up and down the parade route.
Shannon had already recruited others around her to scream at Gray — if he did come by — to get his attention.
The plan worked. Gray saw the “83” on Azalea’s red shirt, and also saw her waving something familiar in front of the barricade:
A packet of Mott’s fruit snacks.
Gray knelt in front of her — at a point when Shannon and Azalea had already started to cry.
“It was awesome,” Shannon said, “for her to meet one of her idols.”
Gray immediately opened the fruit snacks, telling Azalea they were his favorites. He stood tall and tilted his head backward, pouring the whole package into his mouth.
After that, he signed Azalea’s shirt before pulling out his insulin pump, bumping it next to hers in a sign of solidarity.
He also got down real low and close to deliver a message Shannon remembers: “You can do anything.”
After a few minutes with the family, Gray smiled for photos with Azalea before continuing down the route.
It took a few moments before Azalea and Shannon could process what had taken place.
“I was thinking about, ‘Oh my goodness. I can’t believe that this is actually happening,’” Azalea said. “I was just in shock.”
‘I can do cool things too’
When Gray takes the field for the Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday, he’ll have an entire T1D community behind him.
And, in turn, he’ll also show many of them exactly what is possible.
That includes Azalea, who just turned 11. Her family recently moved to Conway, Arkansas, but she’s still in competitive swimming — as challenging as that can be.
Azalea can’t check her levels in the pool, so she can’t always be in the water as long as she wants.
She’s competing, though. And there don’t seem to be quite as many limits because of what she’s seen from Noah Gray.
“I was like, ‘If he can do that, I can do cool things too,’” Azalea said. “Like, he’s an NFL player. I’m in swimming. I could be a pro swimmer if he’s in the NFL.”
Shannon said the Helgeruds are known as the “Chiefs family” in their Arkansas neighborhood. They brought their inflatable KC Wolf from KC (it sits in the front yard) and also have a light fixture that flashes red and gold.
And though Azalea and Shannon are both Taylor Swift fans, their specific allegiance to KC’s tight ends remains unchanged.
“Everyone cheers for Kelce,” Shannon said, “and we’re like, ‘There’s Noah.’”
Collin, meanwhile, is a goalie for his travel hockey team in South Dakota.
It’s taken some adjustments, especially with Collin away from the bench for extended lengths of time. He has a Gatorade bottle available just in case his blood sugar drops, while his coach also keeps a pocketful of fruit snacks handy.
Dustin also constantly monitors Collin’s levels through technology on his phone, texting the coach between periods if something goes awry.
As for Gray’s influence, Collin says, “It fires me (up) that I can do stuff.”
And even play in the NHL, his mother Katie asks him.
“Sure,” Collin says.
Gray says it’s been “humbling” to see kids making signs for him in cold weather, or bringing fruit snacks in hopes they can share those with him.
It’s why, in the future, he said he feels a calling to do even more.
Gray incorporated Tandem — a company that makes insulin pumps — at his recent football camp in his home state of Massachusetts. Because of that, he had a handful of kids with Type 1 diabetes show up to participate.
In the future, Gray also hopes to create a Type 1 diabetic field day — perhaps in Kansas City — while stressing the importance of physical activity.
Some of this he’s already showing by example. Gray had 40 catches, 437 yards, and five touchdowns this year for the Chiefs, though he says some of his greatest fulfillment comes from meeting people like Collin and Azalea.
“It’s heartwarming, man. It’s fun,” Gray said. “It’s why we do what we do.”
As for Collin ... there’s a chance he’ll miss this Chiefs game on television. His reason is a valid one.
With fruit snacks in tow, Collin has a competitive hockey tournament slated for Indianapolis this weekend.
His flight back is scheduled for Super Bowl Sunday.
“Hopefully (Noah) knows,” Dustin said, “he’s having an impact on these kids.”
This story was originally published February 6, 2025 at 5:30 AM.
