Joshua Jones is a 19 year old kid who is battling terminal cancer, and doctors have given him less than 90 days to live since he stopped taking chemotherapy. So his friends and family raised enough money to get him front row tickets to see his favorite baseball team The Dodgers and his favorite player Matt Kemp play one more game on Saturday. While at the game the Dodgers’ third base coach, Tim Wallach, noticed Joshua, his dad and Tommy Schultz in blue at Giants Stadium, and went over to say hi and give them a baseball. It was then that Joshua’s dad asked if there was any way that Matt Kemp could come over and say hi and Tim Wallach said he would ask.
Well after the game Kemp came over and signed the baseball Wallach gave the boy. But it didn’t stop there, Kemp then gave him his cap, his shirt and cleats. While Joshua doesn’t seem to be showing much emotion, partially it is shock and partially because the tumors on his spine have made it difficult for him move his limbs. But what Kemp did, I am sure touched him more than anything.
And Kemp didn’t do this for publicity because the baseball player didn’t even know that Joshua’s friend was recording the encounter. It wasn’t until the next day when his phone was ringing off the hook that he found out what happened. #27 told the LA Times, “I didn’t plan on taking the jersey off, but it’s something I felt would probably cheer him up a little bit … and that was my first time taking my shoes off in front of the fans,†Then he added, “But life is so much bigger than baseball.â€
Then Kemp said something that athletes forget, “I don’t think some athletes understand how big it is to be an athlete, what they can do with just a simple gesture of shaking a kid’s hand. It can make a fan’s day. It can make a fan’s life.†Then he added he was the one touched by the situation and concluded his interview by saying, “Sometimes I forget how much people look at you as their hero. I forget that.†And that is the attitude all athletes should have, but sadly they don’t.
BTW I have been nonstop crying since I saw the video on GMA because what Matt Kemp did was just so admirable and touching. It really reaffirms my faith in people.
When it comes to Joshua Jones, I pray that his pain is minimized and this memory will get him through it all and his family too.
