Baltimore Ravens’ linebacker Ray Lewis has a lot on his mind with the upcoming Super Bowl on Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers being the last game of his NFL career. However what many people don’t know is that Ray Lewis has a heavy heart for personal reasons, as his ailing grandmother who raised him is in the hospital due to serious complications from diabetes.
Ray Lewis grew up in Lakeland, Florida in a home where he resided with both his mother and his aunt, but it was his grandmother, Elease who was the “backbone of the family,” according to Ray’s Aunt Gwen.
Ray’s grandmother Elease has been very ill for several months, and when told she may not pull through Ray replied, “You do everything you can to keep my grandmama alive. Money is no obstacle,” reports Gwen.
According the Ray’s family, he was shy growing up and going to church was not an option, it was expected. While his mother, Buffy, was a part of his upbringing, it was his grandmother, Elease, who raised him to be the football player he is today.
While Ray Lewis is a player that has been in the spotlight throughout his career, and even more so this season with his upcoming retirement and the Baltimore Ravens making to the Super Bowl, the story of his grandmother has not received much notice.
Throughout the season Ray has been visiting his grandmother in the hospital, sitting by her bedside. Elease only sees shadows and isn’t able to speak well. However just being in the presence of this lady who gave the young Ray Lewis so much must be meaningful to him, and words need not be spoken.
Ray Lewis will undoubtedly have his grandmother on his mind and in his heart when he takes the field versus the San Francicso 49ers at the Super Bowl on Sunday, and perhaps she will once again bring him strength for one final victory.
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