Cancer patient hits the big league
The distance between the pitcher’s rubber and home plate, 10-year-old Ross Muelheim will tell you, is 60 feet, 6 inches.
It’s a number the Spokane boy has been coming to grips with for about 2 1/2 weeks, ever since he found out that he’ll be throwing out the opening pitch for today’s game between the Seattle Mariners and the Anaheim Angels.
Ross is battling Ewing’s sarcoma, a rare form of cancer that affects about 200 children in the United States every year. Ross, who was diagnosed with the disease in May, found out during one of his first chemotherapy sessions that he’d get to throw out the first pitch of a Mariners home game, an opportunity sponsored by Premera Blue Cross.
A first baseman and relief pitcher by trade, Ross’ bimonthly chemo treatments have halted his youth baseball career. He’s used to looking at a distance of 46 feet, so he’s not sure what kind of pitch he’ll put on display when he winds up in front of about 40,000 fans.
“I don’t know,” said Ross, a southpaw who throws the ball partially side-armed and tucks his ears into an oversized baseball cap. “I’m just trying to get it across the plate.”
A few months ago, Julie Muelheim, Ross’ mother, noticed a bump about 10 centimeters in diameter behind his right ear. After doctors removed the tumor, Ross began chemo treatments. On Monday, he’ll have the fifth in what will be 14 rounds of chemo, a process spread out over a 28-week period at Deaconess Medical Center.
Because Ross’ condition was discovered in the early stages, Julie Muelheim said doctors are confident they’ll cure it. The average rate of recovery is 70 percent, she said.
“I don’t focus on that too much,” she added. “We’re gonna cure it. That’s all that matters.”
Ross’ weight fluctuates because of the chemo sessions. He weighed 97 pounds Friday, but that drops severely when he gets sick during therapy and when he doesn’t eat much in the days following the sessions.
Ross’ condition has forced him to not only give up sports – baseball, basketball, football, swimming, wake-boarding and biking – but also requires that he avoid public places to lessen the risk of getting sick. As a result, Ross won’t get to attend Hamblen Elementary as a fifth-grader.
Mark Muelheim said his son’s opportunity to appear at Safeco Field is indicative of the support he’s had from Deaconess and Premera.
“Programs like this are really nice for kids who can’t do the stuff kids do in the summer,” Mark Muelheim said.