On a night when Bobby Witt Jr. became the third Kansas City Royals player ever to receive the prestigious Lou Gehrig Memorial Award, former Iola educator Jack Stanley received an even bigger surprise.
Stanley and his family were Witt’s special guests Wednesday evening, and were on the field as the Royals shortstop was presented the award, which goes annually to the Major League player who advocates for research of ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis).
Turns out organizers wanted Stanley on the field for a reason.
After Witt received his plaque, the team rolled out a customized wheelchair for Stanley, who has ALS. Witt autographed the wheelchair, and posed for several photos with the Stanleys.
Stanley was flanked by wife Tina, their children, grandchildren, and an army’s worth of extended family and friends and supporters in the stands.
“Oh, my goodness, it was quite a night,” Tina Stanley told the Register Thursday morning. “It was magical.”
The progressive neurological disorder, commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease, causes muscles to weaken and waste away. There is no cure.
Jack was diagnosed with the disease in September, after having brief bouts of slurred speech last summer. He also often complained of having a “humming” feeling in his hands.
After doctors ruled out a stroke, and confirmed Jack hadn’t been afflicted once again with giant cell arteritis, an ailment he’d dealt with previously, they ordered a visit to a neurologist.
The diagnosis came Sept. 20.
Tina said her husband remains able to walk, but tires when walking long distances, and the disease has begun to affect his speech.
WEDNESDAY’S ceremony came about two months after the Stanleys were visited by a wheelchair salesman.
During the course of their conversation, the salesman asked if the Stanleys were baseball fans.
They are.
The salesman sent Tina a message a day later, asking her to return a call, without Jack knowing.
“He asked if we’d be willing to see Bobby Witt Jr. get his award,” she recalled. “They’d provide the tickets so that we and our sons and their families could attend.”
