CEO of Patients

"Ability is what you're capable of doing.

Motivation determines what you do.

Attitude determines how well you do it."

--Lou Holtz

Walk through the doors of Ranken Jordan Pediatric Bridge Hospital and you will see world-class ability, unbelievable motivation, and never quit attitudes.  After you make those observations of the staff, you will see the kids take all those things to an entirely new level!  Not a week goes by that I am not in awe of the ability, motivation, and attitude of the kids (and staff) at Ranken Jordan.  Each of the above mentioned traits is readily visible during our weekly golf clinics.

One of our regular junior golfers perfectly illustrates the quote which begins this blog post.  CC (aka the "CEO of Patients") has far greater ability than what she believed a year ago.  At times she is a typical teenager and does not like to show just how motivated she is to exceed everybody's expectations for her.  CC's outgoing, effervescent personality and attitude quickly spread among everybody and shortly after her arrival each week everyone was laughing and smiling!  Just over a year ago CC's life would forever change as a tragic accident left her with a spinal cord injury resulting in paralysis.  Prior to arriving at Ranken Jordan, CC had never before picked up a golf club as she always thought "golf is boring."  That quickly changed!

From her first time swinging a golf club, CC had a very natural, smooth swing.  She immediately set a goal to do what perplexes so many golfers -- get the golf ball in the hole (target) in as few strokes as possible.  She will tell you that it did not take her long to accomplish that goal and moved on to figuring out how to hit the ball as far as possible while still getting consistent contact.  CC and I got to work on refining her swing to the point where it was consistent and repeatable while providing maximum power.  Approximately once a month we try and take the kids to the driving range at the Quarry at Crystal Springs Golf Course.  Her hard work at Ranken Jordan and also at the driving range was on display as CC hit one of the ceremonial tee shots to start the 2017 golf tournament.  Did I mention she ripped it about 110 yards right down the middle of the fairway?!?!

Spending time with the kids at Ranken Jordan is rewarding for a number of reasons.  The foremost of those reasons is watching their health improve through their hard work with their care team.  However seeing a child's face light up after they hit that first solid shot, as we saw with CC, leads to many special, memorable moments.  There are physical, social, and emotional benefits the kids receive through playing golf (and sports in general).  They also learn to set goals, create a plan to work towards achieving those goals, and then putting that plan into action.  Their attitudes and motivation prove to everyone that they have different abilities that allow them to accomplish whatever dream their mind can conceive.  As Clemson University football team's equipment manager David Saville said in a recent story on ESPN, "the only disability is a bad attitude."