Beloved Astros fan dies of terminal cancer
HOUSTON (KTRK) -- A young boy with terminal cancer who captured Houston's heart after meeting Astros second baseman Jose Altuve has died, Eyewitness News has confirmed.
Dylan Tindall-Heathcock, 11, has been battling brain cancer that left him with a tumor for the past year and a half.
"Dylan was an awesome child. He was always happy-go-lucky, even battling his tumor and fighting his cancer," Dylan's father, Dwayne Heathcock told abc13. "He loved to fish, he loved baseball, football, and the good Lord's got one heck of a little boy with him right now."
We first met Dylan back in May, when he made a request of Altuve, during a pre-game meeting.
Dylan asked Altuve if he could he could break his bat in his first plate appearance so he could have it, according to ESPN. Altuve did one better and sent someone to the clubhouse to get a new bat for Dylan.
He then told Altuve that he'd hit a homer.
"I hit a homer yesterday," Altuve said he told Dylan. "Don't expect me to hit a homer again today."
"You're going to do it," Dylan told him.
And Altuve did just that. In his first at-bat, he drilled a pitch out of the park.
"As soon as I hit the home run and got to second base, I remembered what he said," Altuve told ESPN. "I really like the kid. He was really happy to be here. I hope God blesses him for what he's been going through."
