Hein battles pain to play the sport he loves

MINSTER - It was the final inning of the opening round of Minster's first and second grade rec league tournament on Tuesday night in a titanic battle between the Bats and the Scrappers.

While a few players from both teams were starting to wear down, Ty Hein, the Scrappers' season-long designated catcher, appeared unfazed as he hustled around behind the plate like a ball of fire, whipping balls back to the coach-pitcher, retrieving errant throws and shuffling bats back to the dugout, where his dad Jesse serves as a coach. Every so often, the brown-eyed seven-year old glanced toward the bleachers to flash a quick grin to his mom, Jill, who sat anxiously with Ty's younger brother as well as with his grandma and great-grandma.

"I always tell him that if he is going to be back there catching, that he needs to make sure his throws are good ones back to the coach so they aren't chasing balls all over the place," Jill Hein, a kindergarten teacher at Houston Elementary School, said with a laugh. "There were a couple of times the other night where he got a little wild and when I said something, he just looked back and smiled to let me know everything would be just fine."

To witness Ty in action is refreshing. The innocence of a little kid being perfectly content on the ball diamond with a glove in his hand is the true fabric of an American childhood, a childhood that for Ty was completely flawless until a little less than a year ago.

"Ty played a serious game of kickball with the neighborhood kids back in August and afterward complained that his foot was hurting," Jill Hein said. "We just iced it and didn't think too much of it, but he continued complaining and the swelling didn't stop. It got to the point where he couldn't walk without pain."

A couple of months passed, but the pain didn't budge. One morning in November, the soon-to-be first-grader at Minster Elementary School woke up and couldn't get out of bed because the swelling had advanced to his left knee.

"We went to a series of doctors who couldn't figure out why he was having the pain and swelling," Jill said. "Finally, we were referred to Dr. Lovell and his most amazing team at Cincinnati Children's Medical Center. It didn't take long there until they were able to diagnosis what had been going on for the previous couple of months."

The Heins were introduced to the acronym JIA, Juvenile Idopathic Arthritis, a condition they previously didn't realize existed, but one which was about to rattle their entire lives.

Over the next seven months, inflammation infiltrated Ty's right foot, jaw, knees, elbows and vertebrae in his neck, and by March it had worked its way into his eyes.

"At one point this winter, the pain left Ty unable to live a normal daily life," Jill said. "He struggled getting on and off the school bus as well as sitting in class and participating in activities. He had to give up sports, which really took away his spirit of being a little kid."

Ty eventually had surgery during which steroids were injected into his joints to relieve the inflammation and his physical therapy involved excruciating injections at home, neither of which seemed to work.

A few weeks ago, the Heins were contacted by ProCamps Worldwide, who invited Ty to take part in the Billy Hamilton baseball camp in Cincinnati, which occurred earlier this week. The event was sponsored by ProCamps Worldwide, Hatton Wish, and the Arthritis Foundation and was dedicated to giving an unforgettable opportunity to a child with challenging medical struggles over the past year.

"Ty is a huge Cincinnati Reds fan, so he was very excited to meet Billy Hamilton," Jill said. "They broke all the kids down into teams and played games and went through drills with all of the coaches. At the end, they pulled Ty from the group and he shook Billy's hand and gave him a hug. At that point, they told Ty's story about the tough year he has endured and Billy presented him with an autographed helmet. It was a very touching moment. It was such a long winter for Ty and for the whole family, but this event was a great celebration and a wonderful way to help pick up everyone's spirits."

Recently, Ty began receiving Remicade infusions, each of which is a six-hour IV drip, every few weeks. Jill Hein optimistically admits the medication has seemed to help.

"With the power of prayer, a super support system from family and friends and the talented staff at Cincinnati Children's, we are all amazed at the progress that he has made," Jill Hein said. "He has been a real trooper living with his JIA. He has a never-give-up attitude and unbelievable perseverance when he is on the field!"

Although Ty's pain has become more manageable, he is still not completely in the clear.

"It's not in remission, but we hope that within the next five years he will be out of the woods," Jill said. "There is still inflammation and there will likely continue to be flare ups when he has growth spurts or with any slight change in his joints, but we are on the right track. In the meantime we will continue fighting and praying for the best."

Just then, Ty looked over at his mom and threw out the same shy smile as he had done from behind the plate the other night, as if saying once again everything is going to be just fine.