Ricky Rubio’s 'I Am Ready Project' seeks to improve hospital experience for cancer patients

During his mother’s four-year battle with lung cancer, Ricky Rubio spent a lot of time in hospitals. His feelings ran the gamut from uneasiness to anger to sadness.

The hospital waiting room became the place where, more often than not, Rubio received bad news. Tona Vives lost her battle with cancer in May 2016. She was 56.

Rubio is now doing what he can to help improve the overall experience for children battling cancer as they prepare for chemotherapy.

The Spanish guard brought the “I Am Ready” project to the United States this year. It is a virtual reality program that helps explain the treatment procedures and processes in hopes of reducing patient anxiety in children.

“Since I became a professional, I’ve always been involved with giving back to the community,” Rubio said. “Back when I was in Spain, especially around Christmas, we would visit hospitals and give gifts to kids. I always enjoyed that.

“When my mom got sick in 2012, it was a tough one. I always thought about opening a foundation when I retire, but then I realized how important it was to do it right away. During one of my last visits – actually here in the states, we had a conversation: She said  ‘I feel good, but I feel guilty that we have all these resources that other people don’t have. The opportunities to get second opinions and all this stuff.’ I said mom don’t worry, I’m going to make sure I give back to the community and help people who are going through what we are going through and help them have opportunities like we did.”

It took about two years, but the “Ricky Rubio Foundation” was finally launched in 2018, focusing on patients battling lung cancer. The ‘I Am Ready‘ project is one of the legs of the foundation. It is another way that Rubio is giving back to kids.

“Imagine an adult going through that and knowing what’s going to happen and how scary it is,” Rubio said. “Put that 10 times on a kid. Kids don’t understand. They are supposed to be healthy and playing all the time. Put them in the hospital where they don’t know a lot of stuff and they see adults and just want to be with other kids. Put them with radiation and they feel sick, it’s not fun.

“I feel like everyone who wants to be involved can be. The doors are open. There was a kid back home in Spain who came with a project. We helped them and their families — this project really goes with what we’re doing. We aligned our resources and power to put all this together and we launched. We started getting big and I decided I wanted to bring this to the United States. I wanted to make an impact where I’m from and where I’m at.”

Rubio estimates the program started with 10 kids in Barcelona and has now helped over 300.

“It’s virtual VR in the hospital and the cartoon explains everything to the kids,” Rubio said. “It has me doing things like tying my shoes and getting ready for basketball. It has the doctors telling them how it’s going to be then we go into the treatment room to see the machines. I think it helps their brains for them to see how it’s going to be. The kids feel safer and more familiar with what’s going on.

“We want to make it for adults, too. We started with kids because they are more vulnerable. We are doing studies and seeing how it affects the kids and eventually, we want to show it can help anybody, not just the kids. We want to make it even bigger. This is the first step. We’re going in the right direction.”

Rubio has spoken at different cancer charity events. He has donated money to fund research. He is doing what he can to make families feel more comfortable in waiting areas. Instead of just chairs, he’s adding playrooms for kids at certain hospitals.

“When my mom was in the hospital, we were waiting and waiting,” Rubio said. “I’m creating an area where you can meditate, read books, clear your mind before whatever is going to happen. It helps not only the patient but the family that is there with the patient have a different approach to going to see the doctor.

“We are doing a charity game to raise money for a hospital in Barcelona as well. We are building a recovery gym where you do all kinds of treatment. We have a lot of projects to help hospitals become better.”

Rubio has dished out over 5,000 assists in his NBA career — and will continue to do so once he fully recovers from last season’s ACL tear — but through his foundation, he is providing his most impactful assists off the court.

“The foundation takes up a lot of my time,” Rubio said. “In the future, it is where I want to spend more of my time. I want to help with research, and innovation in the medicine aspect. We talk with doctors all around the world about different treatments. The dream is to work hard and find a cure for cancer.”