As Niles Brinkley prepared to leave his parents’ home in St. Louis earlier this month and return to the University of Wisconsin campus for the opening of preseason football camp, he understood this goodbye would be more painful and final than any other.
â??I knew she was going to pass away,â? Brinkley, a third-year sophomore cornerback, said softly Sunday at UWâ??s media day. â??I was telling her I had to go back up.â?
His sister â?? 35-year-old Lanita Renee Eddins â?? ignored the cancer that was ravaging her body and said: â??I understand it is important. Go back and Iâ??ll be OK.â?
Before Brinkley could leave, his sister was gone. She died on Aug. 1.