Kate's Baseball Game

I've started crying again already as I begin to write this entry. Saturday afternoon we went to Kate's baseball game. She plays in The Miracle League and it was her first game. It was amazing! Our Kate Kate is developmentally delayed; she has apraxia of speech and takes medication to control a slight tremor. She has made tremendous progress and now longer carries a "talker" with her wherever she goes. Her appearance does not indicate that she has any sort of handicap and I had never thought of her being eligible for something like The Miracle League, even though she goes to a wonderful school, The Academy at Riverdale, dedicated to children with speech/language disorders. Kate has been the bat girl for Lanie's softball team, which Stephen coaches, so she has a rough understanding of the game. She was so happy to be the participant instead of a spectator for this event! Here she is saluting the crowd!

I love this picture of two of Kate's biggest fans! (You would think Stephen was the one related to Tom; he ALWAYS has his eyes closed in pictures, just like his father-in-law!)

Each athlete had a mentor. Kate's must be giving her base running tips as they watch from third. Kate played third base throughout the game but, since I don't see a glove, she must be running the bases in this shot. After the game, I thanked Kate's mentor briefly but I wish I had been able to talk more to her. Several athletes had mentors wearing shirts signifying that they were a member of an athletic team from one of the various state colleges. This young lady moved like an athlete and had a lot of poise and grace. She did not, however, wear a shirt giving me any clues. I wish I knew more about her and had been able to thank her more profusely!

Look at that happy girl as she crosses home plate!!!

I wrote down the website for The Miracle League, www.miracleleaguear.com , and I intend to find out more about it. Until I witnessed a game, I had always been skeptical about a child in a wheelchair getting any enjoyment out of being helped to bat and then being pushed around the bases by someone else. Not any more!