Basketball teams inspire hope
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Editor,
I have been without hope for a while now. My 18-year-old son Connor suffers from a swallowing disorder, multiple GI issues and severe PTSD. He has a feeding tube and is barely stable, rarely leaving the house except for doctor’s appointments. Despondency has set in and it is hard to get out of bed most mornings. Then, last week, something amazing happened.
The Ronan basketball team asked if they could honor Connor at their home game. Evidently, the boys had been asking their coach why Connor was not playing. Their coach explained that Connor was too ill to attend school, let alone play basketball. They wanted to do something to show Connor they were thinking about him and praying for him. I assumed they wanted to give him a get-well card, and I was touched by the gesture, but it was so much more than that.
In a packed gymnasium with hundreds of people, the Ronan coach presented my younger son and I with a get-well card for Connor that the Ronan basketball team had all signed as well as a lovely plant, and they asked the audience to keep Connor and our family in their thoughts and prayers. The coach and players hugged us and told us they were thinking about Connor and praying for his recovery, as did the rival team. There are no words to convey how I felt in that moment.
I am humbled and honored by the show of support. I can no longer view Ronan and Polson as rivals. We are all one community, an extended family, and when things are down, you need your family. From the bottom of my heart, thank you to the Couture Family, thank you to coach Mitch, thank you to the Ronan players, not just for making us feel loved and cared for but for reminding me how to hope.
Catherine Lanier
Ronan
