Boston Herald New England Patriots beat reporter Doug Kyed faced incredibly difficult work circumstances this year. In April, Kyed and his wife Jen saw their younger daughter Hallie diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia. That led to 205 straight nights in the hospital for Hallie, with the Kyeds trading off watching her. She had a brief opportunity to go home in October after a bone marrow transplant, but a relapse saw her back in the hospital, and she passed away on Jan. 21.
In December, Kyed’s colleagues on the Patriots beat gave him an unusual Christmas surprise, pulling together a GoFundMe fundraiser to help with Hallie’s medical costs. That page has raised more than $204,000 to date. And Kyed previously spoke of the support he got from his colleagues and friends in his social media post on Hallie’s passing. Now, he’s written a piece for the Herald about Hallie as he prepares to return to the beat full-time.
I'm preparing to return to work, but first I wanted to write about Hallie, and my experience covering the Patriots through the unimaginable circumstances of my daughter's cancer diagnosis, treatment and tragic passing. https://t.co/c9S18vyCYF
— Doug Kyed (@DougKyed) February 11, 2024
The whole piece is well worth a read, covering what Hallie meant to the family and what it was like to try and cover a NFL team while dealing with a child in the hospital for so long. But Kyed’s closing section on why he’s choosing to return to Patriots’ coverage, and how he thinks it will be helpful for him, stands out.
I’ve taken time to grieve, but I have been following all of the Patriots coaching updates through Twitter notifications. I probably won’t be back to 100% at work for a while. But I do enjoy writing about football and dissecting the minutiae of the Patriots’ team. I’m embracing as many distractions as possible. So, don’t feel bad when you see me tweeting a minor transaction or my byline in the Herald. That is what I want to be doing. Eventually, when I’m back at the NFL Scouting Combine, reporting on free agency, at the NFL Annual Meeting and covering OTAs, minicamp, training camp, preseason and the 2024 season, life will feel more normal again, even if it will never be the same.
For Hallie, Jen, Olivia and me, remember our story to appreciate what you have; whether it’s your health, your family, your children, your friends or anything.
And like Hallie, don’t take no for an answer so easily.
Over the year, Kyed also posted plenty of notes on Hallie on his personal Instagram page, including when the Patriots honored her as part of the Crucial Catch efforts to fight cancer:
We send all the best thoughts to the Kyeds and their family and friends around the loss of Hallie. For those who would like to contribute to the fundraiser to help with medical costs, that can be found here.
[The Boston Herald, Doug Kyed on Instagram]
