Bryce Harper’s visit with Gavin Rupp
Baseball has helped sustain Gavin Rupp since his cancer first formed, back in February 2011. Gavin received radiation treatment and visited Children’s National Medical Center and twice underwent surgery to remove a glioblastoma tumor from his brain. He went through hell, and he still kept his starting position on his travel team. Gavin played shortstop.
Last month Gavin’s father, Chris Rupp, had to make sense of a collection of unfathomable phrases. The doctors were telling them there was another tumor. It was at the center of Gavin’s brain. The surgery risk was too high. There were no options. “The doctors and our team at Children’s National kind of told us it was time to start moving to hospice,” Chris Rupp said. Chris needed to tell his 13-year-old all of this.
The Rupps of Ashburn have had too many bad days. Friday was a good day. The Nationals invited Gavin to throw out the first pitch before the team played the San Diego Padres. Late in the afternoon, at around 5:15, they were hanging out together in the Nationals dugout, Gavin’s parents and his siblings, Abby and Ian. Gavin’s favorite player came walking out.
“You guys want to go out on the field?” Bryce Harper asked.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/nationals-journal/wp/2013/07/05/bryce-harpers-visit-with-gavin-rupp/
If you wonder why I get irritated easily by the "Harper is a douchebag" meme its because I often hear about stories like this. I know at least one person who lives here but is a Braves fan who was totally impressed by Harper after he ran a day baseball camp for kids here.
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