Cubs fans have been rooting for Javier Baez since he was drafted with the Cubs' first pick in the 2011 draft, but Carrie Muskat posted a piece today that sheds light on another member of the Baez family that we should all root for, Javier's sister, Noely.
"[Christmas] is very, very special," said Baez, the Cubs' top prospect. "When my sister was born, doctors said she wouldn't last 20 minutes, that she wouldn't last from one room to another one. Last November, she turned 20. Every day is special."
Noely Baez has spina bifida, the most common permanently disabling birth defect in the United States. It literally means "split spine," and happens when the spinal column does not close all the way. Noely can't walk, but that's about the only thing she can't do.
The whole piece is well worth a read that sheds some light on the Baez family and where Javier came from.
This Christmas is even a bit more special for the Baez family since there was a frightening incident this past Fall:
This offseason, he was reminded once again how fragile life is. On Oct. 13, Baez tweeted, "Pray for my sister please." Noely had to be hospitalized.
"We thought we were going to lose her," Baez said.
His sister's lungs stopped functioning, and for three weeks, she was on a ventilator. The doctors finally decided to take the ventilator out.
"God put his hand on her," Baez said. "She stopped breathing. They said, 'We can't do anything else. We have to see how she'll react.'"
Noely pulled through and we hope that she'll have many more Christmases with her family. It's probably a more worthwhile thing for us to root for than for the Cubs to win 70 games.
Merry Christmas from us at Obstructed View. May your holiday celebrations be above replacement level.
Great reminder to Cubs fans that things could always be worse. For instance, Dennis DeYoung could be your team’s top celebrity fan. (Or, you could have a life-threatening spinal defect, which is almost as bad.)
uncle daveQuote Reply
T-shirt sales of Santa Cubbie Facepalm go on sale on another site tomorrow.
Meanwhile, thanks everyone at OV for an entertaining and informative both above and below the break.
SVBQuote Reply
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Rice CubeQuote Reply
SVB wrote:
I’ll second this motion. I don’t comment much but I enjoy the writing and the commentary here a lot.
I hope everybody has a nice holiday and a great 2014.
cwolfQuote Reply
I was going to have holiday celebrations above replacement level, but then I found out Don Adams is dead.
EdwinQuote Reply
Don Adams? Hasn’t he been dead for 8 years?
MylesQuote Reply
Myles wrote:
Not surprised. He doesn’t even lift.
sitrickQuote Reply
Merry Christmas, fuckfaces!
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Suburban kidQuote Reply
@ Myles:
I find that hard to believe.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
@ Rizzo the Rat:
Would you believe two sailors and a rowboat?
Rice CubeQuote Reply