Boy with leukemia brings out the best in softball community
SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) - In the middle of a nightmare, Katie Rodriguez found an unlikely friend.
Then realized competitors can make a solid support system.
The Clay High School softball coach was focused on finalizing the details of her team banquet June 9 when her husband, Santiago, called to tell her their young son, Gabe, was sick - again. Gabe, 2 years old at the time, was having bruises show up on his body.
The family went to Memorial Hospital for tests. It didn't take long. The results came back: leukemia.
"I remember the day it happened, sitting in a wheelchair with Gabe sleeping in my lap," Katie said, fighting back tears that rehashing the nightmare always causes. "We were making plans to go to Riley (Hospital for Children in Indianapolis). I heard a voice behind me say, 'That's the Clay softball coach.'"
Turns out it was the voice of Clare Keith, a pediatric hematology/oncology nurse at Memorial and the wife of Earl Keith, softball coach at South Bend St. Joseph.
"What a small world," Katie said. "That's just one part of how all this has come together."
"Katie just lost it when my wife recognized her," Earl said. "It made her feel like she's not going through this alone."
The Northern Indiana Conference softball community has rallied around Gabe Rodriguez and his family. Gabe's a fixture at all the Clay games. Katie (Knight is her maiden name) has her brood in tow for every game. Her parents, siblings, husband (Santiago), and children are always at the ballpark.
"Even when she was rrrreeeaaaalllyyy pregnant with Gabe, we'd go through the line (after the game) giving high-fives," Earl said laughing, "when we'd get to Katie, we'd touch her belly for good luck."
That made the news of the diagnosis even harder for conference coaches to digest. Once word got out, the coaches and their players were committed to support the Rodriguez family. Besides well-wishes and prayers, the support came to fruition last Saturday night when about 400 people jammed into the Fireman's Hall on South Bend's west side for the Cleats vs. Cancer charity trivia event.
It was a turnout that left Katie speechless - and humbled. Even NIC newcomers Jimtown, New Prairie, Bremen and Glenn participated with donations or volunteer workers. More than $10,000 was raised.
"That (turnout) was an example of why I could never walk away from coaching," Katie said. "Gabe is still my priority, but for a couple hours a day, softball is an outlet for me.
"Then, (after hearing the news) when the first texts I get are from (coaches) Rich (Burton) at Washington and Katie (Boocher) from Riley; then you get emails from the Elkhart Central softball team; and you hear that the Penn players are wearing purple bows for Gabe; you can't give up."
Maybe since he coaches at a parochial school, Earl was given the duty of coming up with the opening prayer for the event.
"It was so easy," Earl said. "Something like this allows us to realize what's important in life. Softball has brought us together, but family and love will keep us together."
One little boy could change the entire dynamic of a sport in the NIC.
"We try to beat our brains out all season," Earl said. "Now, you look at the other coaches differently. We all have the same things going on in our lives and our teams. We got to know everyone on a personal level. We got to laugh together.
"We didn't just do this for Katie because she's the coach at Clay. We did it because she's such a nice person and comes from such a great family that most of us know."
"I'd be hard-pressed to think of any other softball conference in the state, or any other sport in the NIC, that the coaches could come together like this," said Mishawaka coach Brian Miller said. "This is just a special group that's able to get along and respect each other.
"This puts things in perspective. These are life lessons that you try to teach the kids and they just roll their eyes. This is a reality check. We've all stepped up for an innocent little boy like Gabe."
The battle waged since June is far from over. Gabe is in the midst of an intensive chemotherapy regimen until March, but is holding up well. As the softball season begins in March, Gabe, a resilient young fellow, will be in the maintenance phase. Katie said that doctors feel by the time Gabe enters kindergarten, the leukemia will be a distant memory.
The nightmare may not go away so quickly. But neither will the support.
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Source: South Bend Tribune, http://bit.ly/1PpIQC8
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Information from: South Bend Tribune, http://www.southbendtribune.com