Young baseball fan gets surprise stadium during medical trip

SULLIVAN, Ind. (AP) - Most experiences involving an ambulance are rarely described as pleasant.

But in the case of Drew Graves, a 10-year-old Sullivan resident, one recent ambulance ride provided a special surprise for this die-hard St. Louis Cardinals baseball fan.

Graves was diagnosed with Loeys-Dietz syndrome in 2008, a genetic disorder affecting the connective tissue in the body. The disorder was first observed and described in 2005 by Dr. Bart Loeys and Dr. Hal Dietz at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

Individuals with LDS exhibit a variety of medical features in the cardiovascular, musculoskeletal, skin and gastrointestinal systems.

"Drew's bones are affected, all his body parts actually," Drew's mother, Cara Graves, stated.

On Jan. 27, Drew underwent his 13th surgery at St. Louis Children's Hospital, this one involving a spinal fusion, rods and iliac screws.

"Since Drew's bones are soft, he was restricted to three months bed rest," Cara said. "We have to roll him from to side-to-side throughout the day."

Cara said the hospital recommended placing him in rehab following his surgery but said he could go home - which was definitely Cara's wish - if ambulance transportation could be arranged.

Stepping up to the plate was the Sullivan County Ambulance Service, who later transported Drew for a follow-up visit in mid-March.

"(The SCAS) were gracious to transport him . their willingness to do so is where this all began," Cara said.

Transporting Drew and his mother on the follow-up visit were SCAS Paramedic Training Officer Kenny Ming and EMT Phillip Powers.

"(His family) asked me personally to go up and get him. I've known him since he was a little boy, and Drew and I just get along. He's a funny little kid and I've got six kids of my own," Ming said.

"We went to pick him up that morning at the house, and he was wearing his Cardinals shirt," he continued. "We're two miles from Busch Stadium at the children's hospital, so I'm thinking, if it makes him happy, him laying flat so long, we're going to take him to Busch Stadium and we're going to take him on the cot and we're just going to let him look around."

A dose of good-natured fun was added to the day as Drew and Ming, a die-hard Chicago Cubs fan, razzed each other the entire trip. Cara noted Ming had Drew laughing all day long.

"So we got out at Busch Stadium, the third base side," Ming said. "There's a big statue of Stan Musial standing there. 'Hey Drew, do you want to get your picture in front of the statue?' 'Oh yeah, that'd be cool.' So we got in front, and Mom took the picture of him, and I was noticing the gate that you go into the actual stadium you can see right through it. We pushed him up next to that fence so he could see the field."

Inside, tours of the stadium were being conducted when a tour guide saw the four of them outside.

"After talking with him for a few minutes, he asked if we want to come inside the stadium . 'I have the master key,'" Ming said. "So he unlocks the door and says come on in."

Because of Drew's condition and being flat on his back on the cot while this was occurring, Ming said they weren't able to take him everywhere offered by the Cardinals' employees.

"But we got to sit on the top bleachers, looking to third base, the Arch (outside the stadium), two new Jumbotrons in the stadium," Ming said. "They were giving us a little history of some of the stuff that was old, some that was new. They were working on the field, so he got to see the field being made ready for the season."

However, for Cara, the best recollection of the day was the smile on Drew's face.

"The tour guide to just let us in was amazing," she said. "Drew's face just lit up. It was a beautiful day, and Drew had been inside all the time. It was just awesome."

"For (the Cardinals) just to open the gates to some John Q. Nobody, they didn't know who we were . I mean, we were in our ambulance, we had our uniforms on, we obviously got a stretcher with a kid. But, after I explained what this would mean to Drew, that guy just opened the gate and said come on in. It just made Drew's day," Ming said.

"If we can make a kid happy, we're going to do what we can," he added. "It was really cool; these Cardinals' organization people just opened their doors and say 'free rein.'"

Back to reality, Drew still faces two more major surgeries in the near future, according to his mother.

Cara also says she travels to Baltimore every two years for a conference on the syndrome, including both Loeys and Dietz.

"We listen to experts and have roundtable discussions," Cara said. "We can ask any questions we have, specific to the syndrome or specific to our case."

But with Opening Day for the Cardinals being Sunday, it's a safe bet Drew's experience was a home run in his scorebook.

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Source: Sullivan Daily Times, http://bit.ly/1RslxNm

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Information from: Sullivan Daily Times, http://www.sullivan-times.com