On Tuesday night, a doubleheader featuring the CR North, CR South, Pennsbury & Abington softball teams was held at Northampton Recreation Center as a fundraiser for ALS, a disease CR South softball coach Greg Heydet has been battling for eight years.
A Positive Warrior
With those words, Cindi Heydet closed the speech written by her husband Greg, coach of the Council Rock South softball team. For the players on the four teams who played in Tuesday night’s doubleheader at Northampton Recreation Center and the fans who filled the stands, ALS had a face. It was Greg Heydet.
The brief presentation between games of the twinbill – a fundraiser for ALS - was a sobering reminder that every day is precious.
“What we do seems silly,” said Pennsbury coach Frank McSherry, whose team had just defeated Abington 14-5. “It really does, and I want to say that to the kids too.
“I was upset after the game because of the way that we played, and then I sit here and listen to this and watch this and say ‘Wow, that was stupid what I said to the kids.’ It doesn’t matter. It just doesn’t matter. It’s just not important. This is important, a night like this is important. This is great.”
Abington coach Ellie White was happy to forego her team’s home game against Pennsbury to be part of the event.
“He actually told me a while ago that they were doing a game against South for charity,” the Ghosts’ coach said. “I said, ‘If you want another team, I’m in.’
“He told me the date, and I told the girls. No one cared (that it was our home game). We just wanted to come out here and play. The (girls) wanted to win it for coach Heydet.”
The Abington players sent a group text saying, ‘Let’s win for him.’
“It was a big thing, and he’s always been my friend,” White said. “I said to the girls, ‘This is a game to us, and it’s his life.’ I always preach that it’s more than softball. You have to learn life lessons. Hopefully, they felt that today and learned a little bit.”
The night was the brainchild of Rock North coach John Engelhardt.
“I’m sure it might be easy for coach to ask ‘Why me? I’m in shape, I watch what I eat, I exercise on a daily basis. How could this happen to me’” Engelhardt said during the presentation. “If you know coach, you know that’s not how he lives his life.
“I have heard coach say on numerous occasions, ‘I’d rather it be me than you.’ Those are some powerful words.”
Heydet, who inspires without saying a word, invited three local residents who are also battling the disease to join him at the event. Only one, Southampton resident Matt Belina, was able to attend, and he addressed the crowd.
“You mention Lou Gehrig – I think it was 78 years ago he got up on the mound (at Yankee Stadium) shortly after he was diagnosed with ALS, and he said he felt like the luckiest man on the face of the earth,” Belina said. “I always thought he was crazy. What kind of person could be facing this illness and call themselves lucky.
“But when I look at the way this community has supported us and I look out at the faces that are here tonight that are here in support of us and everybody facing ALS, and I think (Greg) and I can understand how you could feel lucky, and it’s because of people like you.”
Every 90 minutes someone is diagnosed with ALS. Proceeds of Tuesday night’s event will go towards battling a disease that has no cure.
Greg Hedet’s speech is below for those who couldn’t attend the event.
“I first want to thank Pennsbury, Abington, CR North and CR South for volunteering to be in this charity doubleheader. I want to thank Abington and CR North for giving up their home games. Also, want to thank Joe Garvey for bringing his food business to the field and donating his proceeds to ALS. It’s awesome seeing teams and people coming together for, as of now, an incurable disease. And thanks to John Engelhardt for suggesting to me six months ago that we should do this.
ALS is also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease. In your body, the motor neurons are the nerve cells that extend from the brain to the spinal cord and to muscles throughout the body. They allow you to walk, talk, chew, breathe, tie your shoes, etc. ALS destroys those cells. There is no cure for ALS and no effective treatment to stop, slow down or reverse the progression of this disease. It’s a terminal illness, which means death. Lou Gehrig died 76 years ago, and we still have no answers on this mysterious disease. 5,600 people a year are diagnosed with ALS. Ninety percent of those people die within two to five years. Initial symptoms include deterioration of speech, weakness of hands or legs. There is no test for ALS, all other diseases must get ruled out first.
“I had three local people going to join us tonight, but two of them are not doing well. Their disease is progressing fast. I want to send out love, prayers and hope to Brad McGowan of Langhorne and Frank Mongiello of Yardley. But I do have a friend from Southampton who was able to make it. His name is Matt Bellina. Matt is a Lieutenant Commander of the U.S. Navy. Matt’s symptoms started in 2006 when he was medically grounded and fully diagnosed in April 2014. So Matt has had ALS for 11 years.
“Greg has had ALS for eight years now. They both feel very fortunate because only a small percentage of patients are lucky enough to live that long. But they are not sitting around waiting for death to happen. Greg and I talk to other patients to help them cope and spread knowledge of this disease and share things that Greg does to help him prolong his life.
“Greg looks up to these three men, Frank Mongiello, Matt Belina and Jim Worthington, who have continued to spend long hours on the road to help people with terminal illnesses. Frank, Matt and Jim have been on the political scene for over two years. They have met with politicians – from state senators to the President of the United State. They have been trying to get Pennsylvania to pass the “Right to Try” bill. The “Right to Try” bill enables all terminally ill Americans to try medices that have passed Phase I of the FDA approval process and remain in clinical trials but are not yet on pharmacy shelves. These medicines have shown great success overseas. Here in the US, the FDA takes years before releasing these medications. Terminally ill patients don’t have years. And when your only option is death, you’re willing to try anything.
“Thirty-four states have approved this bill. Pennsylvania is not one of them. I want to thank these three men for their continuous support and determination. Jim Worthington is the owner of the NAC, Newtown Athletic Club, and continues to contribute thousands and thousands of dollars a year to find a cure for ALS, in the Have a Heart Foundation, which he started.
“All kinds of people get diagnosed with ALS. So it doesn’t matter who you are or what you do.”
“If there is no cure in my time, I want there to be a cure for you. If you never had a family member with ALS, then you don’t know how ugly a disease it is. It takes over your body and you become paralyzed to a wheelchair and bed. And you go on until your respiratory system gives up. I don’t wish this disease on anyone, but I’m glad that I got it instead of you. I’m a positive Warrior.”
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