Lucky 13

 Each year, as May 10 draws closer, I start thinking about how I can adequately describe what the junior golf program at Ranken Jordan Pediatric Bridge Hospital means to me. Each year, for what is now 13 years, I know that I will fail in achieving that goal. Each year, since May 10, 2011, I have not even really come close to fully explaining how grateful I am for the kids, and everyone, at Ranken Jordan.

How can anyone possibly describe the pure joy that comes along with all of the smiles, laughter, jokes, and stories that comes from so many great golf shots from so many amazing children? I know I sure cannot do that. That is what these last 13 years have been -- all incredible memories and experiences that I am so incredibly fortunate to have experienced. From the first day I walked into Ranken Jordan not having a clue what I was going to do, to last night at this year's golf tournament at TopGolf with Kiland, Deon, and Jace hitting our ceremonial tee shots, I stand by what I always say -- the kids do far more for me than I could ever do for them.

I do not mention it often enough, but the staff at Ranken Jordan is, quite simply, incredible. The passion they pour into their work each and every day is evident in the miraculous results they get through their "Care Beyond The Bedside" model of healthcare. Mary Ranken Jordan's favorite quote was "consider the children first in all you do." The staff certainly does that and more every day. I am very lucky to witness it and to be able to call so many of them friends.

Prior to the very first clinic 13 years ago, it was already obvious to me that the program would not last long, if it even got started, without the support of friends. The first two phone calls I made to ask for help with golf equipment for the kids -- one to Josh Riley at the Gateway PGA and the other to John Bryan at U.S. Kids Golf -- set in motion something that is more than I could have ever imagined. Through the years so many of my friends have supported the junior golf program at Ranken Jordan in every way conceivable. I cannot thank all of you enough for what you have allowed to happen each and every week for 13 years. Your support is what allows the lives of so many children and their families to be improved through the game of golf. Thank you.

As always, when I sit down to type a blog post (which was pointed out to me quite recently I rarely do anymore), I am looking forward to next Wednesday and being back with the kids. From that very first clinic 13 years ago, my favorite day each week is Golfday with the kids at Ranken Jordan. Being there with them and seeing how golf is making a positive difference in their lives, oftentimes in ways I never would have thought of, is humbling and inspirational. I am eternally grateful the kids have allowed me to be part of their recovery, and look forward to at least 13 more years with them.

This Is Awesome!

The very first time I walked through the doors of Ranken Jordan Pediatric Bridge Hospital in St. Louis, Missouri, I instantly knew I was in a very special place. Go anywhere in the building and you will see and hear children laughing, smiling, playing, and simply being kids. They are doing all of these things at the same time as they are getting better. Ranken Jordan's "Care Beyond the Bedside" model of healthcare utilizes "play" as the key component of the countless miracles that happen every day inside, and many times outside, the hospital. Having the good fortune for golf to be a small part of that is something I am grateful for every day.

Several weeks ago we had a new junior golfer join us and he picked up a golf club for the very first time. That first week, Deon was in his wheelchair and didn't have the strength to swing the golf club on his own, so we helped him with hand-over-hand assistance. From the first golf ball he hit he was hooked! Every week Deon has been one of the first to arrive for golf and one of the last to leave. Over the past few weeks Deon has been getting stronger and required very little, if any, hand-over-hand help to hit golf balls from his wheelchair. This is the type of progress in our junior golf program that I so enjoy seeing. Yes, he is hitting the golf ball harder, straighter, and farther, but the reason he is able to do that is because he is getting better. Little did I know the surprise Deon would spring on me at our most recent junior golf clinic.

Like any of the other weeks, Deon was prompt for our 2:00 p.m. tee time and started hitting golf balls right away. One thing he has started doing much more of the past two or three weeks is trash talking to the golf balls! He gets a kick out of it and he makes all of us laugh when we hear it. Every time he squares up his U.S. Kids Golf driver and hits one really hard we hear him say, "I showed that golf ball who is the boss!" After one such drive, Deon turned to his rec therapist, Sean, and said, "I want to stand up to hit golf balls." Sean immediately grabbed a gait belt to put on Deon to make certain he wouldn't fall and I teed up the first golf ball for him to hit standing up. As you might expect, Deon started to send drives sailing across Ranken Jordan National Golf Links! After about 20 minutes of standing to hit golf balls he told us he needed a break and wanted to sit in his wheelchair, but that he wanted to keep hitting golf balls. A few minutes later Deon was back standing up to hit some more. Before he finished hitting golf balls, Deon looked at me with the biggest smile on his face and said, "This is awesome!"

Yes, Deon, you are absolutely correct. This is awesome, you are awesome, and I can't wait for Wednesday to get here!

12 Years of Smiles

"Anytime you have an opportunity to make a difference in this world and you don't, then you are wasting your time on Earth." --Roberto Clemente

It should not come as a surprise to many people that baseball is my favorite sport, so it seemed fitting to me that I start this post with my favorite quote from one of my favorite ball players. While I never had a chance to watch Roberto Clemente play in person, he has always been someone I look up to. I do so for reasons other than the brilliant player he was who showed off his canon of an arm in game 6 of the 1971 World Series, or the amazing hitter who stood on 2nd base after doubling off Jon Matlack on September 30, 1972 for his 3,000th and final hit. Clemente was certainly one of the greatest baseball players to ever live, but I take my inspiration from him from the man he was off the field.

For the past 12 years, May 10 has been a day I look forward to each year with great excitement and appreciation. It was 12 years ago on this date that I walked into Ranken Jordan Pediatric Bridge Hospital for the second time -- the first had been a couple of months earlier to plan the junior golf program that would begin on May 10, 2011. For some reason, Janine Roe believed in a crazy PGA Professional who wanted to start a weekly, year-round junior golf program at Ranken Jordan. Fast forward 12 years from that day and I never would have imagined what our junior golf program has turned into, and the impact it has had on so many children and their families.

Starting with our very first junior golf clinic, we have maintained the exact same primary goal -- make the kids smile. More than 5,000 kids have come through our junior golf clinics and I feel we have been very successful in achieving that goal. Many of the kids at Ranken Jordan have never had the opportunity to play sports of any kind, but they are shown that they can play golf, and we do our best to make sure they have fun doing it! The hospital's "Care Beyond the Bedside" model is on full display every Wednesday afternoon, as is Mary Ranken Jordan's favorite quote, "consider the children first in all you do." We all owe Mrs. Jordan a debt of gratitude for starting this amazing facility, and I think she would be ecstatic with the miracles happening there every day.

When talking to people about the junior golf program at Ranken Jordan, people often hear me say that Wednesday is my favorite day each week and the kids do far more for me than I could ever do for them. Both of those statements are completely true! Spending every Wednesday afternoon with the kids is an incredible honor, and I have never left Ranken Jordan when I did not feel that I got more from the day than the kids did. I cannot wait to get back there each week and am always grateful for the support of so many wonderful people and friends who have made the program the success that it is. Thank you to each and every person who has volunteered, donated, supported, offered words of encouragement, and so much more. All of your generosity has allowed so many kids and their families to heal through golf!

As this date drew nearer, I found myself constantly thinking that there is no way this is already the 12th "Trip Around the Sun" (as Jimmy Buffett would sing) for this program. Fortunately, when I look in the mirror I am reminded of another Jimmy Buffett song line when he says "wrinkles only go where the smiles have been." This means we have created plenty of smiles for the kids, their families, staff, and volunteers, and hopefully have improved their lives through golf. Twelve years is just the beginning and I am ready for many, many more! Hopefully over these 12 years I have done my little part in living up to Roberto Clemente's quote, and in doing so, hope that my Mom has watched each and every junior golf clinic from high above with a smile on her face.

I Got Fired For Christmas

 Ok, so I really did not get fired, even though I was told I was fired, then re-hired, then fired, then re-hired . . . You get the idea. For the past month or so, those of us who are at Ranken Jordan on Wednesday afternoons at 2:00 p.m. have been fired multiple times, but we always get re-hired (so far). The first time I heard this directed at me I could not have been any happier about it!

Why would I be happy to hear that I was fired? It is really quite simple. One of our regular golfers, Joe, has been coming to play golf with us the entire time he has been at Ranken Jordan. For the first several weeks, Joe didn't talk. This certainly is not an abnormal occurrence as many of the kids who have been part of our junior golf program through the 11.5 years have either been non-verbal, or just did not talk much. Even though Joe did not talk during those first several weeks, he communicated very well with us through eye contact, smiles, and giving us frequent thumbs up (I am sure Mr. Palmer would approve of him doing this after a great golf shot).

Around the beginning of December I was setting up for our junior golf clinic and as usual Joe was the first one there. He came right up to me, pointed, and said, "Kevin, you're fired!" We both started laughing and I could not have been any more excited to hear that! Right after he said that he smiled and said, "Ok, you're hired." This was repeated at least three more times that afternoon and each time I was happy to hear it.

See, this is where the junior golf program at Ranken Jordan shows just how different and important it is. We are not necessarily looking for the kids to hit the ball a bit straighter, farther, or make more putts. The primary goals of the program are for the kids to smile, laugh, have fun . . . and get better. Golf is a powerful healing tool and I am fortunate to see the proof of that every Wednesday with the kids. When a child like Joe goes so many weeks without talking and then suddenly starts talking non-stop, it shows how comfortable he is with us, and also how much he enjoys what he is doing. Being able to reach kids in this way is far more important than adding a few yards to a tee shot.

Ever since Joe fired me for the first time, we start each Wednesday with a conversation about what he has done in the past week. He talks, smiles, laughs, and enjoys his time with the therapists, volunteers, and other kids. Joe also enjoys seeing how many times he can hit the golf ball in his target net, but not nearly as much as he enjoys hitting me with the golf ball! At this time of year people are always looking back on the year and reflecting on a myriad of things in their life. Each Wednesday I walk into Ranken Jordan I am grateful that I get the opportunity to spend time with amazing kids like Joe. They get golf lessons from me, but I am the one who is learning the most. Is it Wednesday yet?

"I Had Fun!"

 "If we couldn't laugh we would all go insane." -- Jimmy Buffett

Spend much time around me and you will either hear Jimmy Buffett's music or me quoting lyrics from his music. One of the many things I love about Jimmy's music is how fun it is -- there are so many songs that immediately bring a smile to your face or bring sunshine on a lousy day. I was reminded of this line from "Changes In Latitudes, Changes In Attitudes" during a recent golf clinic at Ranken Jordan Pediatric Bridge Hospital.

We had a new junior golfer walk up to join us and I was immediately told by our soon-to-be golfer that they had never touched a golf club, but looked forward to learning. Due to the injuries that are the reason this youngster is a patient at Ranken Jordan, they have poor flexibility and dexterity in their hands. Our junior golfer initially believed this would be a problem, but that thought was quickly changed! We spent a couple of minutes talking about how fun Ranken Jordan is and then got started learning a new sport. After a few minutes getting the stance and set up just right, I assured our junior golfer that I would help hold the club and swing it.

As is usually the case, my help was needed for all of two or three swings. Our new junior golfer immediately gained all the confidence needed to make swings without any help! I went back to doing what I do best and kept teeing up golf balls. Shot after shot went dead straight and right into the target net! Swing after swing, shot after shot, smile after smile, we both were laughing and having a great time. This continued non-stop for about 15 minutes before our new junior golfer told us "I'm tired and done, but I had fun and want to play golf again!"

You would think after over 11 years of weekly junior golf clinics at Ranken Jordan that I would not be surprised by reactions like this. Smiling, laughing, having fun, and being kids, allows the amazing medically complex children to heal faster and get their lives back. To think that golf plays a small role in that is a very humbling feeling. Watching the kids have the opportunity to see that they can do something and seeing them smile, always has me smiling while I am with them and long after I have to leave. Every week I look forward to Wednesday afternoons when the kids will be smiling and I will be smiling. And as I get older and look in the mirror each morning, all the smiling reminds me of another Jimmy Buffett song lyric: "wrinkles only go where the smiles have been." I am ready for next Wednesday and more smiles!

11 Years and Still Going

Friends and family know that my memory is a bit odd. I have a knack for remembering dates and numbers, but if you ask me what day it is I will very likely give you the wrong answer, however I can quote pretty obscure baseball stats if you ever have use for those (Jimmy Buffett wrote a song called "Useless But Important Information" that could easily describe a lot of things in my mind). Every once in a while, though, being able to remember dates and numbers does have some benefits.

May 10 just so happens to be one of those times. Eleven years ago, on May 10, 2011, I pulled into the parking lot at 11365 Dorsett Road in Maryland Heights, Missouri, for the first junior golf clinic at Ranken Jordan Pediatric Bridge Hospital. That first junior golf clinic was the beginning of our weekly, year-round junior golf program at what quickly became one of my favorite places. Yes, you read that correctly. For 11 years we have had junior golf clinics every week, all year long, in St. Louis, and at a pediatric hospital. Kids have come to play golf in hospital beds, wheelchairs, walkers, and walking on their own. They have had to stop in the middle to take more medicine, get a quick check-up, or wait while a hospital staff member finds out why a machine is beeping. Many of the kids have never played golf before, and many have thought golf was something they would never be able to play. All of them have been included, shown they can play, and learned how much fun golf can be for everybody!

When I first started the junior golf program at Ranken Jordan after reading about a similar program at Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children, I didn't know what to expect. All I knew is I wanted to use my knowledge of the game of golf to help very sick children heal and get better. Over the last 11 years and more than 575 junior golf clinics (every once in a while we have two clinics a week), I think golf has done just that. One thing I quickly learned during the very first clinic is that there is no better feeling than putting a smile on the face of a child in a pediatric hospital. Golf has become a part of the "Care Beyond the Bedside" model of healthcare for the kids and just typing that brings a big smile to my face.

A successful junior golf program like the one at Ranken Jordan would not happen without continual support from a lot of people. I know one thing I am not good at is expressing my gratitude and appreciation for this support. So many of you have helped through kind words, volunteering your time, financial contributions, and so much more. All of the support is so greatly appreciated and has allowed the game of golf to make such a difference in the lives of so many children and their families. I cannot say thank you enough for all of you who have contributed in some way through the first 11 years, and I can tell you that we are just getting started! And to Janine Roe -- the biggest thank you of all for believing in the crazy guy who presented this idea to you. I am beyond lucky and fortunate to have the opportunity to spend time every Wednesday at Ranken Jordan teaching golf to and learning from some amazing kids. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Who Needs A Wheelchair?

 A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away . . .

"Do you think I can play golf since I'm in a wheelchair?"

"This is fun! I didn't think I could play golf!"

"I'm getting better at golf every week!"

Ok, so maybe these quotes were not said by Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, or Princess Leia, but they were said at Ranken Jordan Pediatric Bridge Hospital by one of our most dedicated junior golfers over the span of the past several weeks. Today when I got to Ranken Jordan and got everything set up for golf, I was greeted by something that had me speechless -- the same junior golfer who said these things and has been in a wheelchair for far too long, walked outside for golf! During the next hour I was in awe as I watched this junior golfer stand with their walker and hit golf balls! We made a few minor tweaks to the swing and soon enough golf ball after golf ball was being knocked across Ranken Jordan National Golf Links and onto the two putting greens!

"Standing up to hit golf balls is so much more fun than sitting in my wheelchair!"

"Did you see that?! I hit that one really far!"

"I could stand here and hit golf balls all day!"

These comments are the type of things we heard all afternoon, and there was also a huge smile to go along with everything said! Days like today provide some of the most rewarding moments possible. When teaching golf to children in a pediatric hospital, success and progress are not thought of the same way as many would think. Typically people look at score, driving distance, or in the case of junior golfers, being able to move back a set of tees, as ways to define success and progress. With medically complex children, we look at getting out of a wheelchair to stand and hit golf balls, being able to hold the golf club independently, or increasing the number of golf balls hit, as measurements of success and progress. No, it is not the "traditional" way of gauging improvement in golf, but golf is so much more than just a game. Golf truly is a healing tool and when you see proof of that in front of you, it leaves you at a loss for words and with an overwhelming sense of gratitude that you get to see it. I understand that every Wednesday afternoon I am the one teaching golf to the kids, but the kids are the ones giving the lessons every week.