St. Louis Blues mega fan with rare autoimmune disease celebrates with team on Stanley Cup win

HOUSTON – The St. Louis Blues had one special guest with them on the rink after winning the Stanley Cup on Wednesday night.

Laila Anderson, who is fighting an extremely rare autoimmune disease called hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis, was flown to Boston by the St. Louis Blues to serve as their good luck charm during Game 7.

Hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis causes the immune system to be impaired and instead of functioning normally, certain white blood cells thus attack other blood cells. Only 15 other children in the world are diagnosed with HLH.

Until Game 3, Laila was strictly quarantined to the hospital and her home. 

“She’s a fighter, and she’s going to continue to fight. She’s our inspiration – we look up to her, what she has to go through every single day,” Blues forward Patrick Maroon told Heavy.com.

Laila was ecstatic about getting to celebrate the win with the team 

“I’m just so speechless," she told Business Insider. "I wasn’t ready for this night to start because I don’t want it to end.” 

After winning the cup and celebrating the win on the ice, Colton Parayko held up the Stanley Cup while Laila kissed it twice, a tradition all the players partake in. The Blues take home the Stanley Cup for the first time in history with Laila by their side.