Yes, She CAN Play Golf From Her Hospital Bed!

Every golf course around the world has their "regulars" that they can count on seeing at a particular day and time each week for a tee time. One of my favorite things about the junior golf program at Ranken Jordan Pediatric Bridge Hospital is the number of kids who are "regulars" every Wednesday for GolfDay. Many of the children are at Ranken Jordan for an extended period of time; the average stay is approximately 42 days, and many are there longer than that. This provides the opportunity for the kids to really start to learn how to play golf with their medically complex health issues and utilize golf in their healing journey as a form of therapy. It also allows me to get to know the kids, and vice versa, as I get to be somebody who is a bit more than someone who just hands them golf clubs.

At a recent junior golf clinic this relationship was perfectly illustrated as one of our junior golfers, CC, who is usually in her wheelchair came to play in her hospital bed. Keep in mind that we have had many kids come to play golf who at some point during their stay at Ranken Jordan have played from their beds, wheelchairs, standers, walkers, etc., so this is not an uncommon occurrence. In fact, I have pictures of one child progressing from hitting golf balls out of his hospital bed to his wheelchair, then to his walker, followed by being held by his gait belt, then standing with no aid at all, and now he sends me regular updates from his weekly nine hole rounds of golf. We always find a way for the kids to play golf and enjoy their time! When CC arrived for golf on this particular day she told me, "I'm just going to watch today because I can't play from my bed." She and I have spent enough Wednesdays together that she knew the look I was giving her even though I was wearing a face mask. It didn't take her long to correct herself and say, "never mind, I forgot who I'm talking to. Where's my golf club?" CC, as she usually is, was correct with that statement!

For the next hour, CC hit golf balls, we all laughed, joked, and everybody had fun -- most importantly CC had fun! To have the good fortune to see her smiling and laughing while playing golf had me smiling for days afterwards. The feeling that comes from putting a smile on the face of a child in a pediatric hospital is indescribable. What really stuck with me after this day was how quickly CC went from thinking she could not do something because she was in her hospital bed to realizing that she could play golf from her bed! This is one of the best things I see on a regular basis at Ranken Jordan -- the staff and volunteers there show kids that they can do things that they did not think they could. That realization is as much a part of the healing process as anything else. Believing in themselves and seeing how much they can do gives them a sense of freedom that many likely would not have had if they had not been at Ranken Jordan. This is a big part of why I get so excited about going to see the kids every week! Bring on GolfDay!

A Plan At Ranken Jordan

Growing up there were several TV shows I really enjoyed watching -- M*A*S*H, Mork & Mindy, The Dukes of Hazzard, The Incredible Hulk, and Magnum, P.I., just to name a few. One other show that I always tried to watch (and if we were gone we would put a VHS tape in the VCR to record it; yes, I'm old) was the A-Team. Recently at Ranken Jordan Pediatric Bridge Hospital I got to quote Col. John "Hannibal" Smith. We had a brand new junior golfer, Allie, join us and no matter how much any of us tried, she decided she did not want to play golf. She did, however, stay close and play air hockey instead.

 
After about 15 minutes of distractedly playing air hockey (I noticed her sneaking glances at the kids hitting golf balls) she tried to be sneaky and throw one of the Almost golf balls towards me. I caught it and rolled it back to her -- and Allie laughed. Then she threw it back, I rolled it back again, and she laughed again. This kept on for about 10 minutes before three of us told her if she wanted to keep doing that she had to hit some golf balls first. Allie quickly agreed.

We got her a spot on our indoor driving range, Warner's Corner, where we hit the first few together, and the smile never left her face. The first shot she hit on her own went right into the bullseye of her target net! After about 15 minutes straight of hitting golf balls she decided hitting was more fun than throwing. When it was time for her to go to therapy, she rolled her wheelchair over to me to say thank you, and asked if she could play golf again tomorrow! Arrangements were made to incorporate golf as part of her therapy for the rest of her stay.

Any guesses who the first junior golfer was to show up for golf the following Wednesday? Allie was ready to go 10 minutes early and could not wait to get started. This time she hit for an hour straight all on her own. During that hour she smiled, she laughed, she talked to the other kids, and she had fun. Allie did exactly what any child should do -- she played. In fact, Allie enjoyed playing golf so much that we wanted to make sure she could keep playing when she went home, so we gave her a U.S. Kids Golf yard club and three pink golf balls!This is what Ranken Jordan is all about, letting kids be kids and healing at the same time. I am so fortunate that I get to spend time with the kids every Wednesday and be a very small part of their "Care Beyond the Bedside" model. Every day at Ranken Jordan is special, but those days like the ones described here, when we show a child like Allie that she CAN do something are even more special. While I was walking out to my car after that first day when Allie started playing golf, I had a big smile and thought to myself, as Col. Smith said, "I love it when a plan comes together."

10 Years Fore the Kids

 "Consider the children first in all that you do."

Those words formed Mary Ranken Jordan's favorite quote. On April 9, 1941, Mrs. Jordan founded what is now known as Ranken Jordan Pediatric Bridge Hospital, a unique, state-of-the-art facility designed to help children heal physically, spiritually, mentally, and emotionally, so they can return home safely. Eighty years after her vision began, those words are still evident each and every day at 11365 Dorsett Road in Maryland Heights, Missouri. For those wondering, yes, the street number has significance -- 1 mission, 1 child at a time, 365 days a year. Over the past 10 years I have had the privilege and honor to be a small part of that.

Ten years ago on May 10, we held our very first junior golf clinic at Ranken Jordan. It would be the first clinic of what quickly became a life-altering experience for me. When the junior golf clinics at Ranken Jordan first started, I really had no clue what I was doing, I simply wanted to use golf to help medically complex children and their families heal faster and better. That was it, the goal was really that simple. Last year I was asked what the goal of our program is, and the answer is still the same -- "put smiles on the faces of the kids and help them heal." Now, here we are, over 520 junior golf clinics and more importantly, over 5,000 children helped, later, on our 10 year anniversary. This is the point that I could start telling stories about the kids, what we have seen, how golf has helped the kids, what the game has done for the families, or how the hospital has changed. However if somebody got me started on that I might never stop talking. Over the past 10 years I have seen miracles at Ranken Jordan. Some of these have involved golf and some have not, but I have seen miracles. I cannot begin to tell you how grateful and appreciative I am for the opportunity I have to spend time every week with the kids and staff at Ranken Jordan. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

There are no words to describe what the last 10 years at Ranken Jordan have meant to me. The children, their families, staff, administration, board of directors, and donors, are all simply the best. Ranken Jordan is a one-of-a-kind facility, and all of those included in the groups I just mentioned are one-of-a-kind as well. Thanks to all of those associated in any way with Ranken Jordan, over the past 10 years I have grown and improved as a person. I can state without a doubt I would not be who I am today without our weekly golf clinics at Ranken Jordan. There have been very few weeks during these 10 years that someone has not mentioned how much golf means to the kids at Ranken Jordan. I never hesitate to tell them that the kids do far more for me than I could do for them. Unbeknownst to them, the kids have lifted me up when I needed it the most, and have provided support at times when smiles were very hard to come by. They taught lessons that I did not know I needed to learn, but the education was necessary. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

In 10 years there are countless people who have provided support to allow for the success we have had with the junior golf program at Ranken Jordan. I hesitate to mention anybody specifically because there is no way I could do so without forgetting someone who has been (and continues to be) an integral part of our program, but do want to mention four people. Dana Dempsey with Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children took a phone call from a crazy PGA Professional in St. Louis, Missouri, and generously gave that guy a couple of hours on the phone talking about how to make a program like this successful. Josh Riley with the PGA of America (formerly the Executive Director of the Gateway PGA Section) stepped up and provided funding support and equipment through what was then the Gateway PGA Foundation. John Bryan with U.S. Kids Golf never hesitated in providing discounted prices on the absolute best junior golf equipment. And then there is Janine Roe. She agreed to a meeting with an insane guy who wanted to start a junior golf program at Ranken Jordan, and she never wavered in her belief that it would be beneficial to the kids. Ten years later I am beyond thankful to call these amazing people friends, and grateful that they are only a phone call away for help when I need it! For all of the other hundreds of people who have helped along the way, and continue to help, thank you, thank you, thank you.

Each year as we draw closer to the anniversary of the junior golf program at Ranken Jordan I am reminded of the only aspect of it I wish I had done differently -- I wish I had started it sooner. The reason for this is very, very simple -- I wish my Mother had been able to see it. You see, both of my parents were in education, my Dad being a high school math teacher and my Mom being the board of education secretary, and both enjoyed nothing more than helping children. My Mother also greatly enjoyed volunteering her time to the local hospital to help raise critically needed funds. As she laid in her bed at Siteman Cancer Center and less than two weeks before that damn disease called cancer would take my Mother from us, I told her about what was going to happen at Ranken Jordan, what her little boy was going to do there. And she smiled, the same big, beautiful smile we were all used to seeing from her, but that had become less frequent. We lost my Mom 63 days before the first junior golf clinic. Ten years and more than 520 junior golf clinics later, I can only hope she is looking down and smiling with pride.

This has been a much longer than average post for me, but I believe the situation allows for that. If you have stuck with me this long I appreciate it (I had to take breaks typing so thank you for hanging in there this long)! Thank you to everyone at Ranken Jordan who allow me to show up every Wednesday afternoon to spend time with the kids. Thank you to all of you who have provided support in any capacity during the past 10 years (and I hope for continued support for unlimited years ahead). Most importantly, thank you to the kids and their families for allowing me to be a small part of their healing journey. Each and every one of you has provided me with so much; I hope that I have been able to provide something to you in return. Ten years have flown by in the blink of an eye and I look forward to what the next ten years (and more) have in store for us

Fun Golf Therapy

 Junior Golfer: "Golf is hard, but I'm having a lot of fun playing!"

Me: "It makes me happy to hear you are having fun, and you've been working hard at getting better."

Junior Golfer: "I have been practicing a lot and doing a lot of therapy so I can play longer."

Me: "Remember when you started and you could only hit 10 shots before needing a break? Today you've gone for 30+ minutes without a break!"

Junior Golfer: "I know, and look how many I have hit in the bullseye!"

Me: "Your health and your swing are both getting better, and that is wonderful!"

Junior Golfer: "This is great. I never would have thought I could play golf or would enjoy playing it."

The conversation above happened at one of our recent junior golf clinics at Ranken Jordan Pediatric Bridge Hospital in St. Louis, Missouri. During the almost 10 years we have had our weekly clinics there, I have had similar conversations with many kids, and I assure you that each and every one of those conversations is special. The combined look of pride and excitement on the faces of all of the kids is something that will always bring a big smile to my face.

Many of the children at Ranken Jordan have been told throughout their entire life that they cannot do things; other children have heard the same thing after accidents altered their life forever. At Ranken Jordan the kids do not hear that and are shown how they can participate and enjoy a wide variety of activities and sports. Golf happens to be the area that I can contribute to this in my own small way. The day that the conversation above happened, I watched that child's face absolutely light up when the first golf ball went into the bullseye. Then, when the very next shot also went in the bullseye, I was ready for the junior golfer to jump out of their wheelchair just like Phil Mickelson reacted after he won his first Masters in 2004!

When a child who has always been told they cannot do something realizes that they can do things, it provides a very powerful feeling not only for the child, but also for all those around them. During my many years playing golf I have been fortunate to have some pretty cool things happen personally on a golf course that I never expected to happen -- had a hole-in-one, shot 29 for 9 holes, set a couple of course records, and won the first junior tournament I played in. None of these personal accomplishments comes anywhere close to the feeling I get when I watch any of the kids at Ranken Jordan accomplish something they did not think they could. Mr. Arnold Palmer once said, "The most rewarding things you do in life are often the ones that look like they cannot be done." I would slightly modify that to say that watching and helping the kids at Ranken Jordan do those things is the most rewarding to me.