UNC player visits girl battling cancer before traveling to New Orleans for Final Four game

A girl battling cancer got a very special surprise visit from a University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Tar Heel on Wednesday.

Posted 2:24 a.m. Mar 31, 2022 — Updated 2:28 a.m. Mar 31, 2022

Julian Grace

, WRAL anchor/reporter

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — A girl battling cancer got a very special surprise visit from a University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Tar Heel on Wednesday. It was a visit that would boost her spirits, and surely his, before the men's basketball team's trip to New Orleans for the Final Four game this weekend.

Before taking off in the afternoon, one player wanted to encourage a little girl at the fifth floor of UNC Chilrden's Hospital.

"It has been a rough two weeks," said Julie Perkins.

Her six-year-old daughter, Ashlyn, was diagnosed with cancer in 2020 and have been receiving treatment ever since.

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"It has been a long haul for her, and it is bad enough to have cancer. In the height of a pandemic, it has really been a struggle," said Perkins.

But on Tuesday, Ashlyn got an 'assist' from Justin McKoy, a junior for UNC-CH.

McKoy paid Ashlyn a visit after hearing about her stay at the hospital. The pair went over sight words, read books and made crafts for over two hours.

"I was on cloud 9 for the rest of the day," said Perkins. "Just the fact this young man, who is leaving for the Final Four, he came - not just said hi - he sat down and got to know us."

Perkins said there is a possibility that Ashlyn can be discharged on Friday, just in time for the game on Saturday.

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