KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Chiefs fan Trevor Zerilli got the best surprise of life his thanks to Ronald McDonald House Charities and Direct TV.
“I mean greatest surprise ever,” Zerilli said.
Zerilli, 23, thought he was going to Phoenix for a follow up visit with his doctor.
"I didn’t question it at all, I just went with it," Zerilli said.
The health problems started when Trevor suffered a seizure that stemmed from a bad headache.
“It didn’t take me more than a few minutes and I was starting to have difficulty even talking,” Zerilli said. “The only thing I had time to get out was, ’I'm scared' and I blacked out.
Zerilli checked into Utah Valley Hospital where he was diagnosed with Arterial Venus Malformation.
“They found out I had AVM, which is an Arterial Venus Malformation. It was grade 4 to 5 they said,” Zerilli stated. "What it is, is basically a cluster of blood vessels that redirect blood, in this case the right side of my brain.”
Trevor, a California resident, searched for a cure with his family that ended in Phoenix.
Trevor received surgery, physical therapy and other treatment at the Barrow Neurological Institute.
While he recovered, he and his family briefly called Ronald McDonald House home.
“It made such a difference after surgery and them being that close and them being able to be there after surgery when I was in the state,” Zerilli said.
Trevor recovered, went back to California and then to college at Utah Valley University.
He returned recently to Phoenix for what he thought was another check-up, only to get a huge surprise.
“These guys come in and they’ve got these DirecTV signs, and they’ve got these blue gift bags and they say 'hey we are looking for Trevor,' and I’m like 'hey that’s me,'” Zerilli said. “We heard that you are celebrating your one year since your AVM operation and I said 'yeah' and they said 'we want to congratulate you on that.'”
That's when one member of the surprise party told Zerilli that he was actually there for the Super Bowl.
Trevor says he was stunned, in complete awe, but excited to see the Chiefs in person.
“It was the Chiefs at the Super Bowl and that’s my team. That was wild," he said.
Trevor experienced the big game with his mother, father and younger brother.
“That memory is just kind of like it seals in, looking back at this whole thing as kind of a positive,” Zerilli said.
Trevor says he is grateful to be alive and to witness something he never thought was possible.
“It was the coolest experience ever and that was kind of a dream,” Zerilli said.
