CRESTVIEW — Joey Cruz will be the center of attention April 9, when he will throw the first pitch during the Pensacola Blue Wahoos season opener against the Biloxi Shuckers.
The Crestview 3-year-old earned the opportunity when his family won a two-week online fundraising competition through the Epilepsy Foundation. The Cruzes raised $463 in donations, his dad, retired Marine Joe Cruz said.
While Joey hasn’t quite embraced the game — “He’s only 3. We’re working on him," Cruz said — his family sure has. “My oldest son, Troy, plays baseball for Shoal River (Middle School). We’re all fans, and we’re excited we get to go out there and support the Blue Wahoos and, at the same time, support epilepsy, which is a battle in itself.”
For his part, Joey likes playing on the beach, trick-or-treating and interacting with friends in Southside Center's pre-kindergarten program.
ROUGH START
Helen Cruz said Joey had three seizures the day she delivered him. Nine more followed the next day. He has since been hospitalized seven times, has had four MRI’s and eight electroencephalograms, which detect the brain's electrical activity.
“Joey has been diagnosed with epilepsy, ketotic hypoglycemia, mild cerebral palsy, autism, and is developmentally delayed,” Helen Cruz said. Still, "he is amazingly strong, always brave and a very loving little boy.”
With help from Southside Center teacher Liz Havard and Joey’s speech and occupational therapists, the boy has started putting words together and communicating, playing and interacting with other special needs children, Helen Cruz said.
CHALLENGES AND SUPPORT
While his youngest son combats epilepsy, June will mark Joe Cruz's fifth year with stage four Hodgkin lymphoma. If his tests this summer are negative, he will be considered in complete remission.
But Joey remains his foremost concern.
“My son has a lot of issues. We support every cause we can because every little bit helps,” Cruz said. “Those battles can be very tough: not only on the person, but (also) on the caregivers.”
Cruz said he, Helen, Joey, seventh-grader Troy, and daughter Sydney, who’s dual-enrolled at Crestview High and Collegiate High School, are fortunate to have family and friends' support.
“Regardless of what’s going on, we’re not alone,” Cruz said. “There are people out there who can help out.”
WANT TO HELP?
The Cruz family has started Team R.A.I.S.E. (Raising Awareness In Support of Epilepsy) The goal is to stop seizures or control them as best as possible. See http://bit.ly/1N0NsQB for more details.
Email News Bulletin Staff Writer Brian Hughes, follow him on Twitter or call 850-682-6524.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Crestview boy to pitch for epilepsy research