Day +54: Keep swinging

Top left: Email from Hank! Bottom left: Me at Fulton County Stadium in 1995. 
Top right: Spring Training 2013. Bottom right: End of May 2020.

You know when you’re just staring at the computer screen, deciding what to say to Hank Aaron? Do you not know that feeling? Because I do! Tonight, Hammerin’ Hank took the time to email us after becoming aware of our story. I was born a Braves fan, and Ramón grew up watching the games on TBS, despite living nowhere near Atlanta. Together we’ve gone to many games, made trips to Florida for spring training, and spent a good portion of last season cheering from the hospital following Ramón’s leukemia diagnosis.
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After receiving Hank’s email, I read it multiple times to make sure I was seeing correctly. “You are not going to believe who emailed us,” I excitedly told Ramón tonight – day 61 of his current hospitalization and day 89 this year. Though he’s still unresponsive, I read him Hank’s words of encouragement, hoping they’ll find the sweet spot that leads to progress.
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I love this quote from Hank: "My motto was always to keep swinging. Whether I was in a slump or feeling badly or having trouble off the field, the only thing to do was keep swinging." And that’s what we’ll do. Some days the bat feels light, and other days it feels like it’s made of lead. But we will keep swinging regardless.
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Thank you all for the love you’ve shown us recently, and I want to give a big shout-out to my friend Ileana for facilitating this magical moment. And, of course, I am beyond grateful to add Hank to our list of supporters. Keep swinging with us.