Since he was diagnosed with Hodgkin?s lymphoma in January, 10-year-old Ryan Keleher of Waltham has been battling the disease with courage and toughness, his parents say. On Saturday, June 29, Keleher was honored at Fenway Park during Pan-Massachusetts Challenge (PMC) Day when he got to shout ?Play Ball!? at the start of the Red Sox game.
?It?s very exciting and we?re really proud of him,? said Mary Keleher, Ryan?s mother. ?He?s had a big battle just to get here.?
Immediately after being diagnosed with Stage 4B Hodgkin?s lymphoma, a type of cancer that has spread to Keleher?s lungs, he began undergoing chemotherapy treatments. He completed chemotherapy two weeks ago, and within a week he will begin radiation.
Shortly after being admitted to Dana-Farber, Keleher received a special visit from three Red Sox players, Daniel Nava, Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Jonny Gomes, and Wally the Green Monster. Keleher said Nava is his favorite player on the Red Sox, and he was very excited when he came to visit.
Keleher, a typical 10-year-old child, loves playing video games and riding his bike, and he is a big baseball and hockey fan. Ten is an unusually young age to be diagnosed with Hodgkin?s lymphoma, which usually doesn?t appear until young adulthood.
?He?s handling things so well,? said Tom Keleher, Ryan?s father. ?Throughout the therapy, he?s been going to school. He?s a great kid, and all these things they?ve been doing for us have been great.?
Keleher came to Fenway on a sunny Saturday afternoon sporting a Red Sox jersey and Red Sox hat, and holding a sign that read ?I?m beating my cancer with a little Red Sox therapy! Go Red Sox! Thank you Team 9!?
Team 9, the PMC team of Red Sox employees and friends that supports Keleher, is named after Red Sox legend Ted Williams, who wore number 9 and was a big supporter of the Jimmy Fund. They will ride 192 miles for the Pan-Mass Challenge on Aug. 3 and 4.
?The PMC means a lot to me,? Keleher said, ? because it helps raise money for the patients of the Jimmy Fund.?
After shouting ?Play Ball? to the crowd of 37,437 fans, Keleher came off the field with a beaming smile and a star struck look in his eyes.
?It feels great,? Keleher said after his moment.
This year, the PMC has an overall fundraising goal of $38 million, which is all donated to the Jimmy Fund for the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. The PMC is the Jimmy Fund?s largest contributor, generating 52 percent of the fund?s annual revenue in 2012. The PMC is also the most successful single fundraising event in the nation.
The Pan-Mass Challenge and the Red Sox Foundation have been partners since 2003.
?The entire Red Sox Foundation is very supportive and really helpful,? PMC Founder and Executive Director Billy Starr said. ?Their money, the team, the publicity, the fact that we get this day and have hosted so many functions here. It?s a win-win for everybody.?
Red Sox President and CEO Larry Lucchino is a big PMC supporter, and his wife Stacey is a member of Team 9.
?It?s a partnership that we have that we are most proud of,? Lucchino said, ?The connection between the Red Sox and the Jimmy Fund has been around for 60 years and with the PMC for 11 years, but they also fit together and result in an even deeper Red Sox commitment to the Jimmy Fund.?
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