Play Ball !!

First Baseball Game After Recovery (It's so great to be back).
Shortly after I learned that I had cancer I went back to umpiring Little League baseball. At my first game back (behind the plate), I realized that doing this was one of the things that made me happy and it had become an important part of my life. So I decided not to worry so much about the cancer or about the future. I was happy doing this and whether I was allowed just a few more games, or if I get many years of games to come, I will enjoy each and every one and be thankful for the health and strength to continue.

 New Season:

Last fall, as soon as I received the treatment and recovery details from my doctors,  I began signing umpire contracts for the spring highschool baseball/softball season. Now that season has begun and last night I worked my first game; freshman boys baseball at Sun Prairie, Wisconsin (vs. DeForest). I've worked with these coaches before and some players I recognized (from Jr. leagues perhaps) so it was a friendly atmosphere and everyone was excited about the new season and as happy as I was to be there. I quickly settled in behind the plate and even thought it was a bit chilly, I felt very comfortable and happy to be back.

The game went very well. There was good pitching on both sides and we easily got the game in before dark (my strike zone may have encouraged hitters to swing the bat but that's common this early in the season).


New concerns:

Willy Makit (remember that joke? - Betty Wont)

It's a matter of time. I have to be at the ball park at least 1/2 hour before the game starts (some require a whole hour). Many schools I work for are around 1/2 hour from my house. A typical 7-inning baseball game lasts around 2 hours - but can run longer. Three hours between trips to the bathroom pushes my limits at this point in my recovery. My new bladder isn't nearly as large as the old (and much harder to hold when it suddenly gets full). So I was a little nervous about this game. It was my first test to see how long I could go under a game situation (all those ups and downs behind the plate or running around the infield).

The first thing I noticed upon my arrival at the ball park was that the porta-potty (usual for this this field since it's some distance from the school) was nowhere in sight. So I drove up to the school and talked a janitor into letting me in so I could go before suiting up for the game. This gave me another 1/2 hour. All went well through the game and about half way through the 6th inning I began getting the signals that my bladder was full.  I really had no problem holding till the game was over. Squatting behind the plate didn't help and probably made these signals come before they normally would because once the game was over I had no problem getting back home with no more signals at all. This game lasted 2 hours and 15 minutes. So with time before and the ride home I was easily able to make over 3 1/2 hours.

I feel good about this and expect it will improve with time and conditioning. Bring on the double headers.....