Julian Edelman was back in New England this week, as he and former Patriots teammate Rob Gronkowski hosted a "Welcome to the Nuthouse" live show at MGM Music Hall in Boston on Thursday night.
The week leading up to the show was a busy one, as the duo recording a handful of episodes for their podcasts, Games With Names and Dudes on Dudes, with former Patriots like Vince Wilfork, Ty Law, David Andrews, and Brian Hoyer.
As packed as his schedule was, Edelman still made time to visit with some other old friends at Boston Children's Hospital on Wednesday.
"It was a priority because I haven't been here in a while, and when I was (playing) we used it come here a lot," Edelman told Patriots.com when he arrived to the hospital.
"I wanted to see what they've done here. I haven't been in probably five years so I'm very excited to see the kids, interact with them, and hopefully be a distraction to what they're going through."
Edelman reflected on how when he was first drafted by the Patriots in the seventh round of the 2009 NFL Draft, the late Myra Kraft would tell players about the importance of giving back to the community, and how she and Patriots CEO Robert Kraft bought the franchise with the goal of making a positive impact on the region.
"I would partner up with Best Buddies, we would visit the food banks and Children's, and it was just something that was normal for guys to do," Edelman said.
"As a young player, when you see the older guys getting involved, you are going to want to do exactly what they are. And then you fall in love with it when you really see what it does for these kids."
Edelman's first visit was to the hospital of a baby girl who was wearing a navy No. 11 Patriots onesie.
The infant obviously wasn't alive for Edelman's career, but her parents are massive fans, and meeting the three-time Super Bowl champion helped to lift their spirits. Same goes for the teenage boy and set of parents Edelman visited next.
After that was story time, and Edelman read his children's book, Flying High, to a group of 10 children receiving treatment.
He posed for pictures, answered questions, signed autographs, and was given a special piece of artwork from a little boy named C.J.
Edelman vowed to hang the art, a colored-in picture of himself, on the "Wall of Fame" that serves as a backdrop on his show, Games With Names.
"I remember coming to these things when I didn't have a kid and it had an impact on me," Edelman said of his daughter Lily.
"Having an eight year old girl now, you know, it's just a blessing to go and help these parents, the kids -- everything that they're going through. It's heartache to be in that situation. The fact that they are, if you can change their day for an hour, a minute, I think that goes a long way."
