‘It sparked a light in me’: Josh Allen’s massive impact on Oishei Hospital children

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — Bills quarterback Josh Allen is in the running for league MVP this season, but he’s already earned that title off the field with many children across Western New York. News 4’s Kelsey Anderson sat down with several kids who have been impacted by Allen during their stays at Oishei Children’s Hospital, near the wing named after Allen’s grandmother, Patricia Allen, on the 10th floor.

Walking through the hospital doors at Oishei is generally the start of a tough day – or week – for Blake Davis, Annabella Maldonado and Evie Mancuso. Their families have spent more time at Oishei than they can count.

“She’s had 17 surgeries,” Courtney Willet said about her 9-year-old daughter, Annabella. “She’s been on almost every floor.”

Blake Davis has CRMO, or Chronic Recurrent Multifocal Osteomyelitis.

“It’s where my autoimmune system attacks my healthy bones,” the 12-year-old Davis said.

And Evie Mancuso, also 12, fought leukemia for several years. Now she’s in remission.

But recently, all of them have been able to turn a negative into something positive, all thanks to QB1 Josh Allen.

“He is amazing,” Evie Mancuso said about Allen.

Mancuso fought leukemia from 2020 through the fall of 2022. But just six months later, in the summer of ’23, she relapsed. On one particularly hard day after finding out the cancer was back, Allen walked in.

“I think we were feeling a little sorry for ourselves, or at least I was that day, knowing what was ahead of us, again,” said Erin Mancuso, Evie’s mother. “And in comes Josh Allen. A total surprise.”

The 6-foot-5-inch tall giant came in with a big smile, hugs, and was ready to do anything to brighten their days.

“They sang the ‘Shout’ song together and we forgot our troubles for a day – if not longer,” Erin Mancuso said.

Allen’s visit did the same for Blake Davis and Annabella Maldonado.

“That really sparked a light in me,” Davis said.

“It was super exciting!” Maldonado exclaimed.

They met Allen twice. The first was together at the hospital.

“He got down, actually sat on the floor to play with her,” Willet said. “She had a taco truck and asked him to sit and play, and he did without hesitation. (He) just really got down on their level and talked to them. You would’ve never known he was the superstar that he is when he was here. I really felt like he didn’t want to be anywhere else but sitting there with the kids, hanging out.”

After some playtime, the two were asked to help Josh design a pair of cleats for Week 13 against the 49ers.

“I had a JA Superman,” Davis said about what he drew for the cleats.

“She drew a heart with his number in it and a rainbow,” Willet said.

And a few weeks later, they were invited to One Bills Drive to unbox their creations with Allen.

“I freaking love them, you guys killed it,” Josh said in a video put together by the Buffalo Bills.

When we asked Davis why he drew Josh like Superman, he simply said, “Because he plays like one!”

And in Blake and Annabella’s cleats, he did just that. In the third quarter, Allen pulled out an iconic play, maybe his best of the season: scoring a receiving touchdown on a pitch from Amari Cooper.

“He’s super kind and he makes these awesome plays — like the one where he was wearing my cleats,” Davis said.

Erin Mancuso said Allen told the kids about perseverance and gave Evie a bracelet with the phrase “Never ever give up.”

Allen is larger than life on the field, but when he takes off the jersey, families at Oishei see a humble, gentle giant, who gives great hugs. He’s a real-life superhero to these kids.

“Blake’s got a pretty tough road ahead, but with that being said, this has really changed how he’s looked at things,” said Ann Marie Davis, Blake’s mom. “And we kind of point back to it when he’s feeling down, like, ‘Hey, remember when?’ It’s just been surreal and amazing.”

“It just shows I should never give up,” Blake said.

Kelsey Anderson is an award-winning anchor who came back home to Buffalo in 2018. See more of her work here and follow her on Twitter.

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