"Wow! This is so much fun! I love golf!"
"This is great! Playing golf is fun! You make me laugh & smile!"
Several times in the past I have included quotes like this in various blog posts. And how could I not? Any time you hear a child say things like this it gives you an indescribably great feeling. What makes it even better is these comments came during the last two weeks from two different brand new golfers in our junior golf clinics at Ranken Jordan Pediatric Bridge Hospital. Every week the kids do or say something that amazes me and the last two weeks have certainly been no exception.
Over the last five years golf has become a regular part of therapy for the kids and is a great example of Ranken Jordan's "Care Beyond the Bedside" model. Watching and helping the kids learn the game of a lifetime is a very rewarding and humbling experience. There are plenty of examples of kids like Drew who played golf prior to coming to Ranken Jordan. Having the opportunity to get back to doing something he had played and enjoyed before his injury has made doing his therapy much more fun (and tolerable). Every week Drew comes to golf, stands up, and hits golf balls for the better part of an hour. During this time we talk about anything imaginable, but we also spend a lot of time discussing how golf is helping him get better. He is a very smart young man and completely understands the healing role golf can play. Add to it the chance to get better while swinging a golf club and he always looks forward to "Golf Day" at Ranken Jordan!
Then there are the children like the two I quoted at the beginning of this post. Before their time at Ranken Jordan neither one had played golf. This is quite common and something that we have really come to enjoy as we start the process of turning them into golf addicts! Hearing comments and getting feedback like this so soon after they were introduced to golf is a wonderful feeling. Once I hear something like this I can almost guarantee who will be the first one to golf the following week (and who will want the therapists to get the golf clubs out on a regular basis)! The best part about these two children is one of them came to the initial golf clinic and hit golf balls from a wheelchair. Two weeks later after a lot of very hard work in therapy I watched as that same child stood up and took 10 swings before returning to the wheelchair.
Week after week I happily walk through the doors at Ranken Jordan to teach the kids how to play golf. Each week when I leave I am in awe of something I have seen or heard from the kids. There is not a week that goes by that I do not feel as if I got more from the time with them than they got from me. I have said this many times, but I strongly encourage everyone to find a pediatric hospital or children's charity to volunteer your time to. We always welcome help with the golf program at Ranken Jordan so those of you in the St. Louis area can contact me if that is of interest to you. If you are not near St. Louis find a children's charity in your area. I guarantee you that there is no more rewarding feeling than spending your time putting a smile on the face of a child. As Mary Ranken Jordan was so fond of saying, "consider the children first in all you do."
