Paramedics go above and beyond to help cancer patient
CAMAS, Wash. - A little league baseball coach has been getting lots of help from his friends and family as he battles cancer and recently he got a little help from two complete strangers to help boost his spirits.
Jim Orr has been fighting advanced melanoma for more than a year. He loves coaching his son’s little league team, but his treatment often takes him out of the game.
This past June was the last time he visited the field, although it wasn’t a planned trip.
He was getting a ride in an ambulance to get another round of radiation treatment when he met paramedics Della Bornman and Dan Carlton.
He jokingly asked them to swing by his son’s baseball game. After working out the details, the two paramedics made a detour and granted Orr’s wish.
“We thought it would be a great experience for Jim, maybe a healing experience for him, give him a little more motivation,” Bornman said.
“I was speechless, I couldn’t talk,” said Chrissy Dearey. She was at the game when Orr showed up.
The paramedics wheeled Orr’s gurney to the backstop and the kids on the team gathered around.
“His son comes running up to the gurney and gives his dad a big hug and his son starts crying,” Bornman said. “He didn’t know his dad was coming so it was a big surprise to him.”
“There wasn’t a dry eye on our bench,” Dearey said.
If you’d like to donate to help the family with their medical costs, there is a donation fund set up at Columbia Credit Union branches. You can ask for the Jim Orr account.
