If he could speak right now, 11-year-old Anthony Skipper might tell you about the birthday party La La Anthony and her husband, New York Knicks star Carmelo Anthony, threw for him last year. Maybe he'd talk about the presents that the Anthonys gave to Skipper and his siblings for Christmas.

Unfortunately, due to a brain injury that has left Skipper without speech, he can't. But the affection he feels toward La La and Carmelo still shines through.

His mother, Tyrell Young, sees it each time her son hears La La's voice on the phone. Often, Carmelo's on the call in the background.

"He looks around, and he's trying to find and pinpoint the phone and where the voice is coming from," Young says. "His eyes definitely light up. Sometimes his heart rate goes up a little bit. You can tell he's very excited to see them and hear their voice. He perks up."

Those signs of emotion and awareness are precious for Skipper and his family.

Fifteen months ago, Skipper was taking a bath at his home in Sunrise, Florida, when he suffered a seizure. He nearly drowned, and his brain was without oxygen for 15 minutes, suffering what doctors call cerebral hypoxia: brain damage due to lack of oxygen.

In the painstaking weeks after the incident, Young documented her son's recovery and rehabilitation on Instagram.

"God forbid if this happens to someone else," she thought. "One day we can be of help to other families."

Intending to help others, Young's pursuits ended up connecting her to the kind of help that may save her son's life.

As she continued to update her social feed with her son's progress, someone began tagging La La, who was immediately drawn to the family's story. She reached out to Young and donated money, but she wanted to do more.

La La soon learned that Young was near one of the top hospitals in the area but was in the wrong spot on a long waiting list to make an appointment. So La La got on the phone, and thanks to some help from friend and former Miami Heat star Dwyane Wade, currently a member of the Chicago Bulls, and the Heat organization, she secured a spot at the Nicklaus Children's Hospital in Miami.

She also found out that transportation was a challenge for Young, so La La reached out to Kia, with the help of Cleveland Cavaliers star LeBron James, to secure a vehicle that was handicap accessible.

Months later, Young remains blown away by the gestures.

"I strongly feel like if it wasn't for [La La] and Carmelo being so involved on a personal level, things would be different," she says.

The relationship eventually grew beyond phone calls and favors. La La and Carmelo visited the hospital during a recent surgery; they traveled to Miami with their son Kiyan to celebrate Skipper's birthday. And La La and Carmelo provided Christmas presents for Skipper and his siblings over the holidays.

"In our house, we call them our guardian angels." Young says.

Once in a while, Young will wake up in the middle of the night, check her phone and find a message from La La. It's medical advice.

"Sometimes it's about something that Carmelo heard about from one of his team doctors," Young says, "or it's something that she was up researching."

"I'm just so grateful that God sent them into our lives," she adds.

That feeling goes both ways. La La says her relationship with Skipper and his family helps to put everyday frustrations in perspective.

"He's changed my life," La La says.

That may sound like hyperbole, but consider that La La calls Young daily to check in -- "Damn near four times a day," Carmelo adds with a laugh. La La has flown to Miami to visit with Skipper and his mother five times in the past year.

"He's amazing. He motivates me," La La says.

Skipper has had a similar effect on Carmelo. As the face of the Knicks, Anthony has had to deal with one off-court drama after another. All of it can get frustrating, to be sure. But Carmelo said recently that he and his wife's relationship with "Superman Anthony" helps keep things in perspective.

"It makes me at peace, and it actually helps me playing basketball to be honest with you," he says. "It puts everything in perspective, because I'm a part of a situation where nothing is promised."

Nothing is promised with Skipper, but he has shown signs of significant improvement.

Initially, Young was told her son would be in a semi-vegetative state for the rest of his life and that he'd need a respirator to breathe. Skipper has since weaned off the ventilator for half of the day; doctors are pleased with his progress. "With time and therapy we pray he'll be speaking one day," Young says.

On some afternoons, Skipper gets a visit from a physical therapist. Sometimes a respiratory aide stops by to make sure his lungs are clear. Those are the good days. They're even better, of course, when he can hear those two familiar voices on the phone.

"You can always tell when he hears [La La and Carmelo]. It's amazing," Young says. "And honestly, without them being involved, he may not have gotten this far."