As many of you know, I’ve coached a number of young men in baseball over the last few years. One of the kids that played for me the last few seasons had an incredibly rare medical issue come up about a week ago. This young man’s name is Dominic. At 14 he is now bigger than me, and strong as an ox. Unfortunately he had a stroke in his spine last week. That stroke took him down to the ground and luckily his dad, a firefighter and EMT, was there to help him and get him right to the ER. While there doctors couldn’t figure out what happened as he seemed so healthy. After hours in the ER they figured out what had happened and were shocked because it is so rare. Not sure any doctors had ever seen this before. He was immediately sent to Riley Children’s Hospital in Indianapolis. They told his mom and dad there was a possibility he would never walk again in an attempt to prepare them for the worst. He’s been in the hospital for over a week and he has amazed the medical team. With the help of Physical Therapists and raw determination, he’s already getting up on his feet and shuffling along. It really has been an incredible roller coaster for the family. As his former coach, and family friend, I have no doubt he will get back up and around. It wouldn’t surprise me to see him back on the field one day. That will be a long tough road, but they are all determined to make this a reality. This process will take months of therapy and he will be in the hospital for what could be months. Through this time in the hospital Dom’s parents need to be there with him as he is a Type 1 diabetic. He’s on a pump and the hospital requires a parent to be there 24/7 to help maintain his diabetes care. His mom and dad are both hard workers, but like most of us, they have limited time to be away from work without tremendous expense to the family. I know both of them well, and neither would ask for help, but I will. So here is my ask. Please take a minute and consider donating to this family staring down incredibly tough battles. First, to get their boy healthy again. Next, hope that they can avoid the financial pain of medical expenses and loss of income. Heck, they have to eat meals away from home every day and we all know how stupid the cost of food is. They will need all the support they can get. I know my friends and family as well as theirs will step up and help. Please consider donating as every dollar will go directly to the family. This will help replace their income over the next few months and allow them to support Dom without worrying about their bills. Every bit helps.

Hit the link and donate, share with friends, and let’s show them love and support. Even if you don’t know the family, think about how fragile life is and how things change in an instant. We will distribute these funds as they come in to take the pressure off.

I thank you for taking the time to read this and donating. Feel free to reach out to me directly with questions or other ways to support them. Hit that donate button.

Thanks,

Bryan