A Big Win!

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Another dream come true! I was able to throw out the ceremonial first pitch at the Kansas City Royals game! From the moment I arrived at the ballpark – it was an incredible experience.

I was greeted by Ronnie and other members of Answering the Call; the organization that had already donated a large amount of money to my cause just a few weeks ago.  Ronnie’s good friend, Craig, aka Moose Man, with the newly named “Crown Town Cruiser” arrived to meet me. The Crown Town Cruiser is huge! It is a blue Toyota rock-crawler with a beautiful crown added on top. Unfortunately, due to time, I was unable to take a ride in the Crown Town Cruiser. But it is going to happen.

I was then greeted by Toby Cook, the VP of Royals Publicity. Toby gave me with a ride on a golf cart to the stadium where I waited to meet the crew from Fox Sports. I met Casey Carter, the producer of Fox Sports, and Dan the camera man. Casey has really taken a liking to my story, has read through all my blog posts, and watched my KCTV 5 interview.

I was escorted over to the Fox Sports set. Form there I was welcomed with a hug from both Monty and Joel Goldberg! They gave me a baseball they had both signed for me. It was show time. They put a mic on me and then it was time to tape the pregame show. Monty and Joel made it so easy and fun! I loved being on set with them. Shortly after, I did a separate interview with just Monty to air at a later date. Since I had the opportunity to have dinner at Jeff and his wife Tina’s house, they have been truly amazing. I have kept in touch with both of them and they are such great people.  After we wrapped up the interview, many of my family members were welcomed up on the set to take a picture with Monty and Joel. I love being able to share these special moments with my family. If you weren’t able to catch the interview on TV, here it is! It turned out great! Thank you to Monty, Joel, Casey, and the entire Fox Sports Crew who will all now be sporting their Sarah’s Soldiers bracelets.

After the interview – it was time to prepare for the first pitch! Toby took me to the press room until it was time to walk to the dugout. George Brett walked in to get me and we walked to the Royals dugout. Yes – you read that right – Hall of Famer George Brett. **dusts off shoulder**  In the dugout, I was met by Ned Yost.  He had a big smile on his face again and asked how I was doing.  I had the opportunity to talk to Ned and George for a few minutes. We joked and laughed, it was so surreal but much fun.  While in the dugout, I got to meet Brett Phillips, a young but very promising player for the Royals, who is new to the organization.  Brett came up to me gave me a hug and said, “I just saw your interview! You did great!” Ironically, I had just watched an interview Phillips did on instagram. We were able to joke about our interview skills. Brett was very down to earth and he will definitely become a fan favorite here in Kansas City, I have no doubt!

Salvy entered the dugout and gave me a big hug! He told me it was good to see me again and asked how I was doing.  He signed my jersey and hung out with me in the dugout until it was time to take the field. While I was in the dugout I was also able to see Tommy Woods who I got to work the dugout with. I gave bracelets to George, Ned and Salvy. They all wore their bracelets the whole night!

It was time to take the field! George told me he would like to walk me to the mound and allow Salvy to catch the ball.  I was nervous, but I laughed the entire way to the mound talking with George.  I was told to “Fire away” and I let the ball fly! I didn’t make it the whole way to the plate but at least it was straight! With Salvy’s great catching abilities he was able to scoop it up and met me on the field with that notorious smile on his face.

After the pitch I walked off the field with George and was able to hug several of the sergeants and officers I have known for many years. Officer Ryan Alden was one of those officers.  Ryan has become a good friend of mine through the years.  Earlier in the week when I had found out I would be throwing the pitch out at a Chicago Cubs game I told Ryan I wanted to take a picture with Ben Zobrist.  I loved to watch Zobrist play ball, he always leaves it all on the field, and plays with so much heart. I was able to meet Zobrist and we were able to talk for a few minutes.  He let me know he will be in his thoughts and prayers. Thank you Ryan!!!

After meeting Ben, I was interviewed by two more news stations. Channel 41 and channel 5 were both there and recorded my first pitch! If you have been unable to see the channel 41 news segment, here it is! Thank you Jordan and the entire 41 News crew for sharing my story! Check out their new story here! Channel 41 News Segment

KCTV5 was also in attendance to record the first pitch! Thank you for being there! You can see their new segment here, KCTV5 News Clip

After completing the interviews I was escorted up to the seats by Toby. As I approached the section, I was greeted by my brother Kurtis who I had not seen for several weeks. He was able to make it to the game as well as many of my family members from near and far.  My father was able to make the trip with my little brother Jonathan all the way from West Virginia! My sister Lindsey, brother Matt, and nephew Patrick all made the trip from St. Louis. With the game being in the middle of the week I was unsure if many of the family members would be able to attend! My grandpa made special trip to Kansas City just to watch me alongside my grandma.  Many, many other family, friends, and coworkers were all there to witness the pitch! There were nearly 100 tickets sold and several others which were spread throughout the ballpark. Thank you to each and everyone of you that showed up to support me or watched it from home! As I said in the interview, the support I have surrounding me is what keeps me going every single day! Thank you to the Royals organization for making this dream come true! It was another unbelievable experience I will never forget!

I withstood the heat and was able to stay the entire game! I was able to see the Royals shutout the Cubbies 9-0! After the win I received text messages from Toby and Monty letting me know the Royals got that win for me!

The following morning even though I was very exhausted. I woke up and went to the 610 sports radio studio. I thought I was simply going to record a podcast to air at a later time….once I arrived I realized I was going to be live on the air! It went well and I had a lot of fun! You can listen to the interview here. Fast forward to 8:50 seconds and the interview will begin. After the interview I headed home for some much needed rest!

On to the health update, many of you have asked how the infusions are going.  Well although I have not noticed much change, I also feel like I am not digressing either which is always positive! I am almost finished with my first 14 day cycle and my body handled it well which is all anyone can ask for! I will now have 14 days off!

I will need my prayer warriors on August 15th.  That morning I will be having surgery to place a port in my chest and remove the midline from my arm. Due to my difficulty breathing at times, surgery is no longer a routine thing.  I will be very closely monitored and have been ensured I have a very skilled doctor.  The port will make the infusions much easier! As for everything else, things are going well! Again I must thank you all for all of the love and support it means everything to me! Until next time….Peace out!

#Raisedroyal #Sarahssoldiers #strongertogether

 

 

 

 

 

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