A few of the folks on the HSBBW know what a battle with an injury our son has had this Spring as he tries to prove he can play professionally. If there has been something that helped Jason, it was the fact he got to go home to his apartment in Fla. everynight and talk with Brian Hall.
What has happened with Brian from the time the Blue Jays drafted him in 2004 out of Stanford until he stepped onto the field in Auburn NY on Wednesday night is a story that seems so timely to post on this board.
This is an article from the Auburn Citizen.
It gives me a great feeling that Brian has been a friend, roommate and teammate of my son. I hope his story helps provide some insights and inspiration.
"AUBURN - Now, it's just baseball.
Every day was a battle for Brian Hall. The cleanup-hitting second baseman from Carlsbad, N.M. worried. He worried - with every swing, every miss - how long he'd remain an Auburn Doubleday. He worried about an unfulfilled dream.
“I used to live and die with every pitch,” the 24-year-old Hall said. “I was so hard on myself. If I struck out or had a bad game I worried that I'd be released.”
Though it was unlikely the Toronto Blue Jays would let go a player that was among the league leaders in both home runs (10) and slugging percentage (.512), Hall continued to torture himself with anxiety.
That was in 2004.
Two years later, Hall will once again don the Doubledays' red, white and blue. If you told him back then that he'd still be in Auburn in two years, he'd deem it a failure. But as Hall takes the field today in the season opener, it is a triumph that signifies not only the continuance of a dream, but the continuance of a life.
On Aug. 2, 2005, Hall was diagnosed with thyroid cancer. Worries about a career in baseball were immediately replaced with doubts about life.
“When I was diagnosed, I thought I was dead on the spot,” Hall admitted. “I was a little naive. Just hearing the words 'I'm sorry, you have cancer,' it took my mind off everything else. You realize it's a fight for your life.”
Hall started noticing health problems in November 2004. After a few weeks with a sore throat, he visited a physician, fully expecting a diagnosis of strep throat or mononucleosis. To Hall's surprise, his doctors couldn't identify an illness.
After tolerating the sore throat for another couple months, Hall was hit with severe symptoms he couldn't ignore.
“I put on about 20 to 25 pounds,” he said. “I was getting really lethargic and actually lost a little bit of hair. That's when I decided to see a different doctor.”
An ultrasound revealed Hall had an enlarged thyroid, and a nuclear scan on that gland revealed it wasn't controlling his metabolism, which caused the weight gain.
Hall visited the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas, on July 24 and scheduled a biopsy for the next day. The first surgery took place three days later.
“They removed half of my thyroid,” he said. “They examined it and didn't think there was any cancer.”
Hall returned to M.D. Anderson for a follow-up on Aug. 2, and that's when he received the life-altering news. After an asthma attack halted surgery two weeks later, Hall's thyroid was completely removed on Aug. 30 and he underwent radiation treatment in late September.
Today, Hall isn't sure his battle with cancer is over, but he remains optimistic. A local ultrasound in January showed promise, but he'll know for sure this September when he returns to M.D. Anderson for a full body scan. He still has to take a pill every day to control his metabolism, but his confidence has remained high after learning more about his disease.
“As I got more educated I learned it was beatable,” Hall said. “I was told if you have to have a type of cancer this is it - there's a 98 percent cure rate if it's caught early.”
Although baseball was the furthest thing from his mind while recovering from surgery, his friends in the game wouldn't allow him to stay completely away. Doubledays manager Dennis Holmberg called Hall periodically when he was in the hospital. He also received calls from Blue Jays General Manager J.P. Ricciardi, director of player personnel Tony LaCava and director of player development Dick Scott.
“First and foremost everyone was caring about me and my health,” Hall said. “They could have easily said, ‘You're sick, thanks for trying.' But they've given me every opportunity to come back and play. No one has pushed me, they've let me ease my way back.”
Hall has continued to struggle with his energy levels since the surgery. After the radiation treatment, he dropped from 210 to 180 pounds but didn't have the virility to get back in the weight room. After trying and failing to work out from November to January, he moved to Florida to train with his fellow ballplayers just before spring training.
“It took until February when I really started going at it again,” he said. “I had more energy and decided I wanted to get back on the baseball field. It's something I still wanted to pursue, but the game has changed. It used to be life and death. Now it's just a game. It's a maturity thing - I think I'm more mature now. I want to just go out and have fun. It's an opportunity to be able to play.”
Hall has nothing but fond memories of his 2004 season in Auburn.
“Definitely the first thing that comes to mind is getting Dennis his 1,000th career victory,” Hall said.
“And just the opportunity to play underneath the lights. I was just out of college and it was a different experience. I remember thinking it's a whole lot different playing every day.”
With a year of professional ball under his belt, the Blue Jays decided it would be best to put Hall in an environment where he's comfortable. He's gradually regaining his strength and energy, as well as still recovering from two shoulder surgeries he had prior to 2005.
“Having not played in a year, the organization's in no hurry to rush him through the system,” Holmberg said. “They just wanted him to have a chance to continue to play through spring training and extended without any health issues. That's why they sent him to Auburn. He's on the slow boat to China, not the concourse to France.”
Holmberg expects Hall to be called up to Lansing by the end of the month, although he does admit, “I'd love to have him here all season.”
Having Hall in the clubhouse is another definite advantage for Holmberg's squad. Minor league veterans, especially in Class-A, are hard to come by. Hall is one of the few players who can council the younger guys and talk with them about his New York-Penn League experience.
“Just like the rest of these guys I'm hoping to move up within the organization but that's not my main focus,” Hall said. “I'm just trying to enjoy it. That's what I'm trying to tell these younger guys. There's more to life than baseball. You started playing this game purely for the fun of it. Go out and play like you did when we were kids.”
Walking around Falcon Park, it's hard to miss Hall's infectious smile. Of course, he's got a lot to grin about these days. Last July, he wasn't sure whether he'd make it to his 24th birthday. Now, he's back on the playing field, determined to use his story to inspire others who may be stricken with a similar illness.
“I'll always play with the 'Livestrong' bracelet - not necessarily for me, but to show others that cancer is beatable,” he said. “You can beat it and you can still chase your dreams.”
By Ryan Day / The Citizen
Tuesday, June 20, 2006 12:18 PM EDT
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