SALT LAKE CITY -- As part of an annual holiday tradition, members of the Utah Jazz visited children who are hospitalized at Primary Children's Medical Center and Shriners Hospital.
Paul Millsap, the Jazz Bear and some of the Nu Skin Dancers were among those who visited the young patients.
"We're ecstatic. What a great community service they're providing to come and visit kids who are suffering and struggling with their own personal trials," said Richard Harris, a relative of one of the children who were visited Tuesday. "They come and kind of take their mind off that for a minute. It's nice."
Millsap said seeing the childrens' smiles made his visits worthwhile.
"Just walking into every room, you know, you've got the mothers who are happy to see their kids smile. Some of them haven't smiled in weeks, so to see them smile, to see their mothers getting emotional about it - it's an amazing feeling," Millsap said.
Millsap stressed that these visits are not an obligation for the Jazz, but a special privilege for them.
"We don't consider this work. This is something different, something above that," Millsap said. "Things aren't as bad as we think it is. You lose a game, but that's minimum compared to what these families are going through. So, you know, you come here and it puts things back into perspective."
