Maddie Huntington, who turns eight tomorrow, has had health problems since birth. Her kidneys do not properly feed into the bladder, so she is required to wear a colostomy pouch around her back to help with draining.
Kym Rohn-Taylor, known as Ms. Kym, is an Allied Barton security guard who works at Franklin Field. She tries to memorize every athlete's name who walks through the gates. She also has health issues and will be having breast-cancer surgery later this month.
Julia Cheney, a senior and third baseman on the Penn softball team, has had no such troubles. But when she learned of Maddie's story through Rohn-Taylor, Cheney and her teammates decided to honor Maddie on her birthday by making her the guest of honor at tomorrow's afternoon doubleheader against Temple.
"We decided to set up a little something to welcome her as our special guest," Cheney said. "She's throwing out the first pitch. . We'll see if she can join us in dugout for inning or two, and maybe be the bat girl. We're just trying to make her feel included."
Other festivities will include welcoming Maddie and Ms. Kym with a spoken introduction, a special tailgate in between the games, and a rendition of "Happy Birthday." The team also specially made a shirt that carries her name and "Penn Softball" on the back. In addition, as word spread of this event, several other Penn sports teams donated memorabilia for Rohn-Taylor to give to Maddie, including hats, shirts and even stuffed animals.
So how did it all start? The answer is that quintessential Philadelphia item: a cheesesteak.
On March 14, "we had about an hour and a half before an appointment at" Children's Hospital of Pennsylvania, Maddie's father, Gene Huntington, said. "Usually she can't eat beforehand because of her procedure. This time she could eat, and so I told her she could get her first cheesesteak hoagie. We were right by Franklin Field and she wanted to go in there to eat."
The Huntingtons then saw Rohn-Taylor sitting on bench, who admits: "I was feeling sorry for myself," since she was worrying about her illness. "I saw this little girl who was sitting there with her dad," Rohn-Taylor said. "I started talking to her and that's when I found out she has had health problems from a young age.
I also learned that she really liked softball, as well as Madonna, among other things. Although I couldn't give her Madonna, I knew I could introduce her to some softball players.
"Unfortunately, she didn't have time to do so. Instead I gave her a Penn T-shirt . and a media guide. After her operation her dad called and told me she didn't take that Penn shirt off the whole night."
The softball team's newest fan would also make an impression on her role models.
Although Cheney didn't have time to meet Maddie that first day, she was impressed by the girl when she heard her story.
"This is a unique opportunity," Cheney said. "When someone comes up to you and says they met Penn softball's biggest fan, that's not something you hear very often, especially at this school. To hear that there's someone out there that really looks up to us makes us excited."
About a week later Huntington, Rohn-Taylor and Cheney realized that there was a softball game on Maddie's birthday. After softball coach Leslie King gave the okay, Cheney personally set up the festivities that will take place tomorrow.
"That the softball team was willing to do this; I just thought was a blessing," Rohn-Taylor said. "They're not just committed to sports and academics, but also to the community and helping a little girl. It also gives me a good chance to do something for someone else and not concentrate on myself."
Maddie's looking forward to what "could be her best birthday ever," as her father describes it.
"I'm really excited to watch the softball game," Maddie said. "I love softball because it's a very fun sport and I love to hit balls."
For the softball team, it's another reason to get psyched for a city rival game.
"We haven't had problems focusing," Cheney said. "But this definitely gives us extra motivation. We want to win these games for Maddie, even though it sounds clich‚d."
Clich‚ or not, the team will let a young girl live her dream. And bum kidneys can't stop that.
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