SEQUIM — George Steinbrenner, principal owner of the New York Yankees, reportedly said, “Get the Shepard family anything they want.”
But they didn’t want much of anything beyond what they have in their small house near Sequim’s Greywolf Elementary School.
Marci and Brian Shepard’s son Tyson, 11, has proven wrong his doctors’ many sad predictions.
Seven years ago Rasmussen’s encephalitis attacked his brain. The rare malady caused relentless seizures until they numbered 100 per day.
The illness was supposed to destroy his coordination and any possibility of learning to read and write. Doctors don’t know of a cause — or cure.
But Tyson has played on the Sequim All-Stars baseball team two years in a row. He’s ready to start sixth grade in September.
He rides his bike around town and does the usual stuff with his 10-year-old brother, Colton.
And he’s turned into a history buff — as long as the history’s about the Yankees.
Tyson knows all the stories about Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle and Babe Ruth. And he follows the current Yankees’ every move.
What the kid doesn’t pay much attention to: The fact that his own story packs a wallop.
‘Our hearts were breaking’
The devastating part started when Tyson was 5. Rasmussen’s syndrome began robbing him of his communication and motor abilities, and as months passed every brain scan came back worse than the one before.
“Our hearts were breaking,” Marci said at the time. None of the medications worked.
“We were out of options,” she remembered.
Doctors at Swedish Medical Center in Seattle told the Shepards that their son needed a hemispherectomy — removal of the diseased half of his brain.
They and members of their church began to pray.
During three days of EEG scans in preparation for surgery, they prayed.
On the third day, their doctor came to see Marci and Brian and asked if they were ready for a miracle.
Tyson’s brain is normal. He has gone into what’s known as spontaneous remission, the doctor told them.
At first, however, Tyson walked into things, and his hands missed each other when he tried to clap.
He’s still alternately blind in each eye.
His therapists said he’d probably never learn to catch a ball, pedal a bicycle or swim.
The Shepards have gorgeous photos of him snorkeling, riding a scooter, biking, playing ball, rock climbing — often wearing a Yankees jersey or cap.
Sleeping on pinstripes
Tyson won’t sleep on anything but his Yankee-pinstriped sheets. He shares a bedroom with Colton, and puts up with his brother’s Seattle Mariners bedspread.
But most of the room is a Yankees party of posters, thick binders full of baseball cards — and the piece de resistance, a ball bearing the signature of Alex Rodriguez.
So when it was his turn to pick the family’s summer vacation, Tyson chose Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, N.Y.
The Yankees and the Mariners, which open a three-game series in New York tonight, are scheduled to play Wednesday at 1:05 p.m. EDT.
If the family could be there, well, that would be his ultimate experience.
So Brian and Marci made their plans and bought some seats up in the bleachers.
Brian mentioned the forthcoming trip to his uncle, Howard Warner of Columbus, Ohio. Warner, when he heard about the bleachers, offered to see if he could find something better.
Warner happens to know Steinbrenner’s nephew, Michael. He’s a member of Warner’s church.
Weeks passed, and Brian heard nothing. That was OK, he said — the family was still thrilled about the vacation.
The delay, as it turned out, was due to a 15-minute DVD Marci made about Tyson. She and Brian sent the disc, a kind of photo album, to Warner.
He watched it three times, and “cried his eyes out,” Brian said.
Warner gave the DVD to Steinbrenner’s nephew, who watched it four times and then shared it with the Yankees boss.
The Boss wants you to call
Warner called Brian on July 5 and told him to phone Steinbrenner’s office. He’s waiting to hear from you, Warner said.
It took a few minutes to get through, but when Steinbrenner came to the phone, he was blunt.
“You’re coming to New York, 3,000 miles, to sit in the nosebleeds?” he demanded.
“It’ll be fun,” Brian replied.
Steinbrenner had other plans.
The Shepards will not sit in the bleachers. They will watch the game from the celebrity box where former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani sits.
But first they will be admitted to the stadium early, at 10 a.m., to roam around on the field, watch batting practice and chat with the players.
“He said he’ll talk to Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter, and make sure they take care of [Tyson],” Brian added.
Departed Sunday
The Shepards flew to New York City on Sunday morning.
They’ll have seven days to explore the city, and since it’s their first time there, the sightseeing list is long and glittering.
They’re staying in a hotel near Times Square, and going to see “Tarzan” on Broadway.
Those aspects of the trip don’t seem to excite Tyson and Colton much, however. They’re still thinking about what they’ll talk about with A-Rod.
What’s a boy to do when given such a gift? When his dad broke the news of Steinbrenner’s plan, Tyson reacted the way anybody would.
“Now I know,” he said, “what it’s like to cry because you’re happy.”
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Sequim Editor Diane Urbani de la Paz can be reached at 360-681-2391 or diane.urbani@peninsuladailynews.com.
