— A Lift To Wrigley Field Makes for Perfect Day!
Wearing a Chicago Cubs cap and shirt and a smile, Norman Wilson was nearly ready to take off for Monday night’s Cubs game.
All he needed was a little help from his team.
So there was his family, including his mother, Gerri Wilson, and caregivers Beverly Pedro and Betty Criddell making sure he had everything he needed for the trip to Chicago.
There was Rosemary Muchow, chaplain with OSF St. Joseph Medical Center, and registered dietitian Angie Fisher, visiting and praying with him.
And there were LeRoy Ambulance emergency medical technicians led by Chris Dunning and Bloomington Fire Department firefighter/paramedics to transition Wilson, 52, from his hospital bed in the small Bloomington apartment that he shares with his mother to a stretcher that was placed in one of LeRoy’s ambulances for the trip.
Destination: the left field bleachers at Wrigley Field. The EMTs and paramedics/firefighters had worked with the Cubs to reserve space for Wilson and a reclining stretcher. That way, he could watch the Central Division Champions with his friends — the EMTs and paramedics/firefighters.
They weren’t making the trip because they were told to do it.
“This is a group of friends doing something for another friend,” said firefighter/paramedic Josh Plese.
They were taking Wilson — a lifelong Cubs fan — to his first game since he was left paralyzed from the chest down after a hit-and-run accident on Easter 2007.
“I’m blessed,” said Wilson, reclining in his bed before leaving for the game. His lower body was covered by a Cubs blanket. He faced a wall with a crucifix and, under it, a picture of Wrigley Field.
“This is a dream come true.”
Wilson has loved baseball since he played catch with his father and grandfather while growing up in Chicago.
He played outfield for his high school and loved throwing out runners at the plate. “I had a great arm,” he said.
“I like the competitiveness” of baseball, he said. “I’m a competitor.”
He loved the Cubs and grew up going to games and watching them on television.
Nine years ago, Wilson was working in a Bloomington day care center and remained active in sports when he was struck by a vehicle as he walked home, crossing Empire Street near Mount Vernon Avenue.
Read rest of story here.
Source: The (Bloomington) Pantagraph, http://bit.ly/2crhFy6
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