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It Was a Dream Come True
Zach Stamatis is a Whitcomb High School 10th grader with a physical disability. He was born with a disorder of the spine which makes it difficult for him to walk. Stamatis does get around though, albeit in a wheelchair and occasionally with crutches. For several years, he has lived with Frank and Nancy Taplin in Bethel. Everyone who knows Stamatis describes him as intelligent, well-adjusted, and good humored. This reporter talked to him at length and found him poised, easy to talk with, and very quick on the uptake. He has many interests, besides his favorite school courses (math and English), and is an avid follower of sports. Zach’s main passion is the Boston Red Sox. He knows all about the Sox—their history, their records, their players, their games, and their standing at any given moment. He collects Red Sox memorabilia, and reads everything about them that he can lay his hands on. Until recently, however, he had never been to a Red Sox game. Stamatis’ many friends in the community and at the school decided to give him a very special gift by sending him to Fenway Park in Boston to see the Red Sox in the flesh. They launched a fundraiser at the school and around town. Posters were designed, letters sent out, phone calls made, and money was collected so that Stamatis could travel to Boston on August 13 with Frank Taplin to see the Sox play the Orioles. The timing of Stamatis’ trip was particularly important because everyone wanted it to happen before early fall when he was scheduled for major orthopedic surgery to reinforce his spine. The surgery was to be followed by a very long recovery period that would have delayed the visit to the Red Sox indefinitely. After Stamatis went Boston, The Herald spoke to him on the eve of his operation. "It was a dream that I’ve always had, and I thank everyone for making it come true," he told us. From his account, the Red Sox obviously gave him the VIP treatment. He and Taplin got to Fenway Park a few hours before the game. They were greeted by a Red Sox staffer, known as a "Fenway ambassador," who gave them a full tour of the stadium and arranged for Stamatis to attend the Red Sox batting practice, where he was given a number of baseballs that the players used. He also met and chatted with sports broadcaster Tina Cervasio, and then watched the game itself from choice seats along the third base line. After the game, Stamatis went to a nearby restaurant where the Sox’s world series trophy was kept, and was given the special privilege of holding it and examining it up close, an experience that he said was particularly meaningful to him. He and Taplin returned to Bethel that evening laden with Red Sox shirts, pins, and mementos. Stamatis underwent his operation earlier this month. The complicated surgical procedure took most of the day. He will be out of school for several months while recuperating, but is expected eventually to have much improved mobility. Undoubtedly Stamatis will return to Fenway Park in the years to come, perhaps again and again, but we are certain that the perfect day when he visited the Red Sox on August 13, 2006, will be engraved in his memory in a very special way; especially, as he informed us, since the Sox won 11-9! ____________ |
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