Charity Softball Game

This Saturday, September 20th, the Rancho Cucamonga Police Department will be playing in a charity softball game against the Rancho Cucamonga Fire Department. Before I give more details, let me give some background to those who aren't familiar with our family.

In April 2005 Mike was hired by the San Bernardino County Sheriffs Department and was assigned to one of the county's detention centers. After spending six months in the jails, he was given the opportunity to become a patrol deputy and gladly took the position. He was assigned to the Victorville station, which is about 35 miles away from our home, and continued to do well for himself. He enjoyed working with the other deputies and liked the pace the city offered; he often said that there was always something to do. After a couple of months on Mike being on patrol, we learned about Carlie's heart defect. Mike went to his Sergeant to give him a heads up on our situation and soon after Mike was pulled into the Lieutenant's office to discuss what was ahead for our family. They wanted to make sure that we were doing okay; being a part of law enforcement is really like having a second family. After Mike's meeting, the Lieutenant went to the Captain to explain our situation and the two of them decided that it would be best for our family if Mike were transferred down to the Rancho Cucamonga station where he would be closer to home (we live in Rancho Cucamonga) and the hospital. In February 2006 Mike began working at the new station and had a very warm welcome. A month later Carlie was born and many of the deputies, Sergeants, Lieutenant and other staff offered support to our family as we traveled down an unknown road. The station's chaplain even drove out to the hospital the day after Carlie was born to say a prayer with us. The station allowed Mike to come and go so that he could spend time at the hospital as needed. A couple of days after Carlie was finally able to come home, we were greeted by the station's Captain and a Sergeant; again they wanted to make sure that we were all doing well. Throughout Carlie's life, I have received calls from various Sergeants and deputies checking in to see how Carlie is progressing. The department has been a great source of support and we are very thankful for all that they have offered.

Now back to the softball game...A couple of months ago it was decided that the police and fire departments would play in a charity softball game against each other to benefit a local charity. After talking about it, they decided to choose the Pediatric Cardiac Intensive Care Unit (PCICU) at Loma Linda University Children's Hospital, the very unit that treated and saved Carlie's life. We are once again thankful for the department's generosity in helping raise money for the unit as they are in need of a makeover.

If you are in the area, we'd love for you to come out (I'd love to meet other heart families!) and enjoy what I am sure will be a great game. We will be raffling off some prizes and Heather Froglear, from the local country station KFROG, will be joining us as she also has a daughter born with a CHD that was treated at Loma Linda University Children's Hospital PCICU. The game is Saturday, September 20 at the Rancho Cucamonga Epicenter located at 8408 Rochester Ave. The gates will open at 6:00 and the game starts at 7:00. We hope to see you there!!!