'Tears of joy' shed as 3 VIPs explore Brewers camp

PHOENIX -- Nine-year-old Natasha Taylor of Green Bay, Wis., suffers from fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva, an extremely rare condition that causes her muscles, tendons, and ligaments to gradually turn to bone. She’s a tough kid who has braved a lot of painful treatment, said her dad, G.W., and often requires air travel to see specialists.

So it was a welcome change when Taylor and two other young patients from Aurora Health Care boarded a flight bound for the sun and fun of Spring Training, where they were greeted as VIPs in Brewers camp.

“Normally, when Natasha gets off an airplane she has to go through a lot of tests, a lot of physical endurance. Sometimes it’s not pleasant for her,” said her dad, G.W Taylor. “Seeing her happy for once, seeing here out there with the players, that was fantastic.”

Taylor was joined by two other young Brewers fans from Wisconsin who have shown toughness in the face of tough medical diagnoses. Eight-year-old Blake Baker of Grafton had an 11-hour surgery to remove a benign brain tumor caused by a rare genetic disease. Nine-year-old Tyler Morano of Fredonia has progressive hearing loss, a type of hearing loss that gets worse over time. Morano wears hearing aids, and his family is learning American Sign Language.

On Friday, the young trio's troubles were temporarily replaced by a day with the Brewers at American Family Fields of Phoenix, where manager Pat Murphy introduced his guests in the daily players’ meeting, former Brewers outfielder Ryan Braun showed the kids around the complex and Christian Yelich led them through the team stretch.

“It is immeasurable what this can provide to the kids,” said Dr. Kevin Dahlman, the medical director of Aurora Children's Health. “It really gives them the foundation for, ‘This is why we want you better.’ It’s a reminder for the players, too: This is why you play, to celebrate life, to be a good example for these kids.”

The night before, Brewers outfielder Sal Frelick and first baseman Rhys Hoskins visited the families at their hotel for dinner. Frelick and Hoskins both identified children's health as a top priority when the club’s community relations department polled players regarding which areas matter to them most.

“We get just as much from them as they get from us,” Frelick said. “I remember when I was that age, and I’m looking at the kids who were diagnosed with unfortunate things, and you see them smiling from ear to ear. How happy they are, how grateful they are, it can take you back a little bit and make you reflect on things like how grateful you are and the position you’re in. I think there’s a mutual feeling that you can learn from each other.”

Braun expressed the same sentiment.

“I see the world through the kids’ eyes, I have young kids of my own,” Braun said. “For them to have some semblance of normalcy and get to meet some of their heroes and get to hang out with them, work out with them, they were in the locker room and got to take batting practice and ground balls. It was special.”

The visit continues Saturday, when the kids will throw ceremonial first pitches prior to the Brewers’ Cactus League opener against the Reds.

It’s at least the fourth time that Aurora and the Brewers have partnered to fly young patients to Arizona for a Spring Training experience.

“The kids are the biggest Brewers fans, so they take away how special the Brewers are and the fact they they open up their home and make them feel welcome,” said Aurora Health care president Gabrielle Finley-Hazle. “These kids are going to go home tired from a great day of play, but also inspired to keep fighting and keep doing the great things they do every day.”

Rebecca Baker, Blake’s mom, described her son as a big baseball fan who idolizes Yelich. But the highlight of Friday, according to Blake, was hitting in the Brewers’ batting cage with infielder Joey Ortiz.

“Never in our wildest dreams did we imagine we would meet so many players and get to meet some of his idols,” Rebecca said. “That was a really cool thing. And also just to have fun after everything we have been through in the last year. …

“Today is a happy day. I actually had tears of joy.”