When 4-year-old Ellie lost her prized Richard Sherman doll, Shermie, mom Megan Carter reached out to everyone she could to find the doll. Luckily, the Seahawks player heard the call.

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“I think she got it when she was around 18-months old,” Carter said. “… I don’t know why she glommed onto it, but she has carried it around everywhere; every surgery she has ever had, every hospital stay, every appointment. So she really depends on it. On Monday, she had a procedure at Mary Bridge and he got misplaced, or lost when she was moved to recovery. She was devastated. That’s how this whole thing got started.”

Ellie is a patient at Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital in Tacoma. She was born premature and has dealt with medical issues ever since.

Carter and the hospital sent out tweets searching for the doll Thursday morning, but Shermie could not be found. Much to Ellie’s surprise, a real life Richard Sherman showed up at the hospital with gifts.

“We had sort of tried to prep her for it, but I don’t think she really understood that the real, live guy was coming to see her,” Carter said.

Still, Ellie yelled “Sherman” when the Seahawk walked into the room.

“She kept saying, ‘I can’t believe you’re alive, I can’t believe you’re alive,'” Carter said. “She doesn’t really care about football, but every time he comes on the screen she freaks out and cheers for him. And every time he gets tackled or falls down, she says, ‘Oh no, Shermie, is he OK?'”

Sherman didn’t have a replacement doll on hand Thursday afternoon, but he’s making sure Ellie gets a new one. He plans to give the doll to her at a Seahawks practice, Carter said. There wasn’t any media or entourage present Thursday; just Sherman’s family and Ellie’s for about an hour. The two raced down the hall — Ellie won.