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.