Cooperative Living November/December 2016 - 17

CoverStory | by Laura Emery, Field Editor
Lunenburg County brothers spread seasonal
cheer to kids hospitalized during the holidays
alton Ashworth, 11, lies in a
sterile white hospital bed as
thoughts of his shiny new
baseball bat and warm, summer
baseball-diamond days dance in his head.
Just outside his window, festive lights
twinkle against a backdrop of brick and
mortar, a reminder that the world beyond
the hospital walls is still celebrating
the holidays.
It's the week after Christmas, 2013. Dalton
has just been diagnosed with Crohn's
disease at Richmond's St. Mary's Hospital.
His parents, Carl and Rachael Ashworth of
Victoria, are relieved to finally have a
diagnosis for their son's ongoing affliction.
" It was an absolute nightmare, " Rachael,
a member of Southside Electric Cooperative
(SEC), begins, recalling the experience.
" He had been getting progressively worse
as it got closer and closer to Christmas,
and he hadn't been eating anything. He
ended up losing 13 pounds. "
Christmas came, and Dalton spent most
of his time in bed, while his Christmas
gifts, including the brand-new baseball bat,
sat idle on the floor. " It was so hard to
watch him wither away, " Rachael says.
" I knew something was seriously wrong
and that he needed to go to the hospital. "
Crohn's is an incurable intestinal disease
that blocks the body's ability to absorb the
nutrients it needs. " It was a very difficult
time for our family. He was hospitalized
for a total of 45 non-consecutive days over
a period of four months. He was also in
the hospital on Easter and Valentine's Day, "
Rachael says.
" Nobody wants to be confined to a
hospital bed during the holiday season.
I definitely didn't, " Dalton, now 14, says.
Being unable to play baseball or attend
school was devastating to the active preteen
whose dream is to be a professional
baseball player. He longed to trade his
hospital gown for a baseball cap and cleats,
the smell of disinfectant for that of a wellworn
leather mitt, and the sound of
medical equipment for the inimitable
crack of bat against ball.
Dalton's beloved baseball is a game
of happenstance: pitch to pitch, it's
www.co-opliving.com
D
While hospitalized at St. Mary's Hospital
with Crohn's disease in 2013, Dalton
Ashworth, then 11, longed to be on the
mound again, baseball in hand. Though life
had thrown the youngster a curveball, he
handled it with great aplomb. " Not being
able to play baseball was devastating to
Dalton, but he still stayed positive, " his
mother, Rachael, says. " Adults could learn
from his outlook on life and dealing with
what life throws at you. "
unpredictable. His illness shares this trait.
Doctors explained to the Ashworth family
that while medications help manage the
symptoms of Crohn's disease, Dalton's
battle with the illness will be lifelong, and
unpredictable flare-ups are inevitable.
Rachael remembers the heartache when
she first heard the news. " At first, I was
heartbroken. I felt like he wasn't going to
be able live a 'normal' life and do the
things that he loves to do ... like baseball.
Dalton was disappointed, but he took the
news surprisingly well, " she says.
Life had thrown the youngster a
curveball, but he handled it with great
aplomb. " I remember Dalton confidently
telling me that it was going to be okay.
Adults could learn from his outlook on life
and dealing with what life throws at you, "
Rachael reflects.
Though buoyed by his resolve to
remain positive, Dalton was still an
11-year-old child stuck in the hospital and
missing the comforts of home and the
holidays. On the third day of his hospital
stay, he received an unexpected surprise
that bolstered his spirits and had a lasting
influence on him.
Right after lunch his nurse, a warmhearted
woman, entered the small, sparse
patient room, moving at her usual swift,
purposeful pace. She was wearing
Winnie-the-Pooh scrubs that day, Dalton
remembers. He noticed that she had a
colorfully wrapped package in her hands.
The nurse explained that the present was
part of a larger donation of gifts for young
patients spending Christmas in the
hospital's pediatric ward. She wanted
Dalton to have it.
A grateful smile spread across Dalton's
face, and his spirits were instantly lifted.
" Even though I was really sick, it made me
feel good. It meant a lot to me, " he recalls.
The unexpected gift - a set of Halo
Mega Blocks - kindled holiday spirit in
the sterile, unfamiliar environment. It also
brought an awareness to the perceptive
preteen that behind the beige doors lining
the hospital's pediatric corridor were other
sick, ailing children who had spent the
holidays in the hospital.
November-December 2016 | Cooperative Living | 15
PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE ASHWORTH FAMILY
http://www.co-opliving.com
Cooperative Living November/December 2016

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