A friendship beyond hockey: 3-year-old shares special bond with ThunderBug

TAMPA, Fla. — A friendship that will tug at your heartstrings. Tampa Bay 28 Anchor Lauren St Germain shares the story about a bond between a 3-year-old and the Lightning’s lovable mascot – Thunderbug – for this week’s fan zone. “Can you say hi?” said Nicole Ream. “It’s still surreal. You know. He’s walking, talking. When he was born, they really didn’t give him any chance of living,” said Ream. The day St. Germain met John Ream he was full of energy, working on his slap shot, and dancing with ThunderBug. These are moments his mom, Nicole, doesn’t take for granted because of the journey to this point. “When our son was born, it was the first day of playoff hockey in 2023. And he, you know, was a little baby and in an isolette that you couldn’t touch or do anything with, but we sat there and watched every playoff game in the NICU with him to pass the time,” said Ream. That was just the start of the Lightning love during their hospital stay. “My son – when he was seven months old – he got his tracheostomy because he needed to still be intubated in order to breathe. But, he was a baby, and he needed to move and play, so we decided to get him a trach. Somebody got him a ThunderBug stuffy, and he absolutely fell in love with it. He wouldn’t smile for anybody because he was really pretty miserable at the time, but smiled for ThunderBug and continued to smile for ThunderBug,” said Ream. They were still in the hospital for John’s first birthday, so they threw a ThunderBug-themed party, and the lovable bug came. “We asked him if he would hold him for a picture, and you know, he did, which kind of blew my mind because most people are so nervous. He didn’t hesitate to just put his arms out and held him and just was comfortable with him, like walking around with him. And at the time, my son was attached to probably five different things to keep him alive. It was the first time I had ever seen my child be treated like a typical child,” said Ream. The sweet friendship blossomed and ThunderBug kept coming back. “But every visit would make us smile. John smile. The nurses, the doctors smile, and just it made the experience a little bit better,” said Ream. ThunderBug even walked John out of the hospital when he finally got to go home – 16 months after being born, and the friendship didn’t stop there. “We just kept saying, you know, one day … one day … we’ll get to the arena, and one day he’ll watch a Lightning game with ThunderBug,” said Ream. That one day came in October, and John went to his very first Lightning game. “It’s indescribable. It was overwhelming. I was so emotional,” said Ream. Safe to say, John had a blast. He rode the Zamboni, passed the puck with ThunderBug, and perhaps most importantly, just got to be a kid. “You see him here just running and being a typical toddler, and he has no trach anymore. Honestly, there’s no words for it to explain how amazing it is. We are just so grateful he is alive and thriving and we have such a great family village that have gotten us here, including the Tampa Bay Lightning,” said Ream. Nearly all Lightning games will be broadcast live on The Spot – Tampa Bay 66 (WXPX-TV) and will also be streamed here. The Spot Tampa Bay 66 is the official broadcast partner of the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Spot and Tampa Bay 28 are both owned by EW Scripps. HOA said yes, but the CDD says no: Sun City Center homeowners ordered to remove backyard fences For years, homeowners in one Hillsborough County neighborhood had fences around their backyards — fences that were approved by their homeowners' association. But now, another organization with government powers says some of those fences are blocking drainage easements and have to go, at the owners' expense. Sun City Fences Latest Local News from Tampa Bay 28 Lightning face Columbus in second night of back-to-back away games Kevin Lewis HCSO Gang Unit arrests man after finding 9 guns, drugs inside Valrico home Anthony Romano Attorney questions evidence in Tampa father's voter fraud case Katie LaGrone 1 person shot in leg after altercation in Tampa: HCSO Leilyn Torres