After winning Vikings-themed jackpot amid cancer battle, team invites Debbie Bury to big game
MINNEAPOLIS — Debbie Bury is a hardcore Minnesota Vikings fan. This past summer, after having some vision issues, she found out she had stage 4 brain cancer.
The very week she found out her diagnosis, she won a Vikings-theme scratch-off worth $100,000.
After our story aired, the cancer got even more aggressive. The Vikings called WCCO and said they wanted to treat Bury to her first game at U.S. Bank Stadium.
So on Sunday, Dec. 1, as the Vikings played the Arizona Cardinals, Bury got to watch.
She now uses a wheelchair. Her pain is palpable, but that didn't keep her from bringing her trademark positivity with her to the stadium.
"I think they are gonna do it, I think they are gonna impress me," she said.
Her Vikings in front of her, her family beside her — it was a true escape from a truly hard time.
"We appreciate this so much because it's been something for her to look forward to," said her daughter, Melissa Cryer. "If we weren't here, she'd just be in bed."
But she's here, fighting alongside her favorite team.
"If you don't stay positive, your body's not gonna stay positive, it's not gonna go the way you want. You have to think positive, be positive," Bury said.
That's an attitude that's gotten her a long way in life.
"When I tell people what's going on and I was invited to the Vikings, people are just like, 'Who are you?' I don't know who I am, but it's good!" she said.
So in the the worst of times, she created the best of memories. She dabbed her eyes saying she felt the love.
And on this good day, the Vikings won, and Bury brought the luck.
"I'm very blessed, I'm very blessed," she said.
Bury says her favorite part of the day was feeling her late father's spirit, he was also a loyal fan who used to work with the team.
