Vikings serve up special meal

MINNEAPOLIS -- A hospital is no fun on any day.  It can be especially tough on a holiday.  But two days before Thanksgiving, patients and families at the University of Minnesota Amplatz Children's hospital got the meal they were afraid they would miss, thanks to the Minnesota Vikings.

One of the patients, 11-year-old Elly Steckler, has a rare problem that damaged her pancreas.

"I had a good year, but it just went down hill," she says.  "My stomach started hurting again and they had to bring me down here."

She still doesn't know if she'll have to spend Thanksgiving in the hospital or if she'll get to go to her grandmother's house.

"This is our Thanksgiving," says Beth Larson-Steckler, Elly's mother.  "And we get to meet some of the Vikings!"

Offensive lineman Steve Hutchinson and his wife hosted the meal for the third year in a row.  Elly didn't know his name, but she could tell what he did for a living.

"A football player -- 'cuz he's big," she says with a smile.

Before long, Hutchinson was at her table, signing autographs.

"It's awesome," Hutchinson says.  "Just to see them laugh a little bit and take a break."

Elly's mom will tell you that it's not where you spend Thanksgiving, but who you spend it with that matters.

"We're grateful, we're thankful for a lot of things," she says.

Hutchinson, Ben Leber and other players also visited kids in their rooms if they weren't able to make the meal.

The Vikings also sponsored a free flu clinic Tuesday for patients as part of the Vikings Tackling Influenza program.

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