Coaches know that there are people out there that have it a lot tougher than trying to sort out a depth chart. Les Miles is no different. That’s why the coach picked up the phone recently to talk to a teenage cancer patient in Mountainbrook, Ala. who happens to be a major LSU fan.

Miles chatted with Sid Ortis, a 15 year old with osteosarcoma, an aggressive form of bone cancer. AL.com had the story:

Then there was the Friday night surprise telephone call from LSU coach Les Miles. Sid’s parents, Scott and Lisa Ortis, both originally from Louisiana, have no idea how the coach got their cell phone number, but they certainly aren’t complaining. “I said hello, and a woman said, ‘This is Les Miles’ secretary and he would like to speak to Sid,”’ Lynn said. “I was shocked.”

With 15-year-old Sid kicked back on the couch like he was on the phone with an old buddy, Miles talked to him about football, such as what went wrong for LSU in the Alabama game, and he talked to him about life. “He told him, ‘Life is not how long you live, but how well you live it,”’ Lynn Ortis said. “He was chatty chatty. And then he asked if he could pray with him, and he did. It was surreal.”

The story also says that Sid’s community, a town right outside of Birmingham, Ala. (which is split between Auburn and Alabama, like much of the state) even put up balloons and ribbons in purple and gold in support of Sid.

Sid, who was diagnosed in August 2014, recently underwent another round of surgery for his treatment, according to the article, so Miles’ call came at a good time for a pick-me-up.

The Ortis family and friends have help set up a Strike Out Pediatric Cancer fund that supports Children’s of Alabama, the hospital that has treated Sid.