Long Grove boy is honorary Cubs Bat Kid

Submitted by Advocate Condell Medical Center

Long Grove resident Charlie Grisamore, 10, was the Honorary Bat Kid at the Chicago Cubs game Thursday, June 11.

As Honorary Bat Kid, Charlie met players in the Cubs dugout before the team took on the Cincinnati Reds. He also got a chance to receive autographs and have photos taken with the players as the Cubs took batting practice. As an added bonus, some of Charlie's siblings got to be in the dugout, too, while the rest of his family watched from the stands nearby.

Charlie is a huge Cubs fan, but his own baseball season ended early this year when he shattered his right arm falling from the top of a very high fence while tracking down an errant ball tossed by one of his brothers. The fall cut short Charlie's baseball season just as he was learning to pitch and it landed him in the emergency department at Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville with a compound fracture.

"He broke his radius and ulna," his mom, Cheryl Grisamore, said. "He was being a typical boy; climbing over the fence instead of going around. His sweatshirt got caught, he lost his balance and fell."

Marcus Talerico, M.D., an Advocate Medical Group orthopedic surgeon on staff at Advocate Condell, performed surgery the next day, placing a rod in each bone. The rods will remain in place while his bones heal. In the fall, he will undergo surgery again to remove the rods.

During a follow-up appointment, Dr. Talerico told his young patient about the Bat Kid opportunity.

"Charlie just about fell off the exam table. He didn't stop smiling all day," Cheryl Grisamore said. "Even though his season is over, he couldn't wait to tell his team at their next game. He's thrilled."

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