DblT81
01-29-2002, 11:47 AM
From the Lubbock newspaper- I thought this was special enough I wanted everyone to see it. http://redraiders.com/stories/012902/wbb_0129020026.shtml
Lady Raider's visit to a fan develops into treasured friendship
When she first met him, the man was flat on his back in bed, alone in a Lubbock hospital room. His face was pale, his joints stiff. He couldn't walk and could barely talk.
Successful surgery to remove a cancerous tumor from his stomach had taken a toll on his body. He was in despair, his mind reeling from the recent death of his great-grandson.
"I think it was more serious than I thought it was," the man said of his condition on that day last July when he needed a reason to live.
Alton West found a reason when Natalie Ritchie walked into his hospital room.
Alton West and Natalie Ritchie seemingly have little in common.
He is a 75-year-old retired teacher and Baptist minister from Brownfield who lives with his wife, Norma, in a Lubbock retirement home. He suffers from Parkinson's disease, has battled cancer and is confined at times to a wheelchair. She is a 19-year-old Texas Tech sophomore from Amarillo who thrills Lady Raider fans with her 3-point shooting prowess.
They had never met until Ritchie entered his hospital room, yet now they share a special bond.
"He's really sweet. I enjoy his company," Ritchie said.
West said the feelings are mutual.
"I just was impressed by the fact she is a sweet, little girl who would do anything for you," he said.
That's why Ritchie walked through the door — that and basketball.
Tech head coach Marsha Sharp asked Ritchie to visit the ailing West after the Lady Raiders were contacted by a friend of the sick man. No one is saying who inquired on behalf of West, a Lady Raider season-ticket holder for 10 years.
"You have an angel somewhere," West's daughter, Barbara Smith, told him when he asked her how Ritchie had learned about him.
With little more than West's name, Ritchie ventured to IHS Hospital in downtown Lubbock.
"I was a little bit nervous because I heard he was so sick," she said. "When I was driving over I just prayed. I asked God to give me the wisdom to say the right things and just to calm me and to be able to communicate with him in the right way."
She arrived with an autographed Lady Raider poster for West.
"He didn't look very well at all," said Ritchie, who introduced herself and plunged ahead. She found some tape and hung the poster. They talked about basketball. They talked about their families. West had difficulty speaking, so Ritchie leaned close and quietly listened. Her voice shakes months later when she recalls the conversation.
"I asked him how he was doing and how he was feeling, and he just broke down and started crying," she said. "I think it was one of the most difficult things I have ever done in my life. I have never had a grown man that I didn't know start crying in front of me."
West was struggling to come to grips with the death of his 7-month-old great-grandson, Joshua Rowan, who had died days before while waiting for a liver transplant. Ritchie grappled for something, the right thing, to say.
"I just told him that it was OK, and although we were going to miss him so much and he was going to miss holding him, that right now Jesus was holding his grandbaby," she said. "And his grandbaby was playing in Jesus' lap and he was so happy. And that he's laughing up there and that it's OK because we'll soon be able to go up there, too, but God's taking care of him.
"He stopped crying and he looked at me and he just said I was precious. I told him I appreciated that."
The foundation was set for the bond between the retired teacher and big-hearted basketball player.
On average, the Lady Raiders receive 75 to 100 requests a month for posters, cards, notes, autographed basket-balls, telephone calls or personal visits. All the players help respond, often speaking to school children, youth groups and civic organizations.
"I think we're in a position where we can touch and change a lot of lives, and that's one of the reasons why I love it here," Ritchie said. "Seriously, I know it sounds so goofy, but that's the reason why I'm here.
"Basketball is wonderful. It's been such a blessing to me. But it's not about the game. It's about what you represent and what you do and what you say when you walk off the court that's going to have the biggest impact."
Sharp describes Ritchie as a great ambassador for the program.
"She has been unbelievable with our fans, from kids all the way up to adults who are needing some assistance," the coach said.
Ritchie returned to West's room several times last summer. West was sitting in bed on the second visit and seated in a chair on the third occasion. Once Ritchie brought a smiley-face balloon and bubbles to brighten the room. And she wasn't impressed with his blue pajamas.
"I said, 'Oh, what's going on, Alton? We need some red and black in here,' " she said.
West continued to improve, drawing inspiration from Ritchie's visits.
"She made the effort worth it," he said.
But West also was inspiring. He had a stiff, swollen elbow after his time in bed, and Ritchie saw that rehabilitation of the joint was difficult and painful — harder, she realized, than the ongoing rehabilitation of her right knee.
"It made me realize that I had it so much easier than he was having it," she said. "When I was doing my rehab I was thinking of Alton and how he was doing his. I knew I could do mine and get my legs better and ready for the year."
When they talked about families, Ritchie often told West about her grandfather and hero, Jack Ritchie. Papa Jack, his granddaughter said, is a man of faith who overcame polio, became a successful lawyer, raised a large family and never misses Tech home games.
When West was upset about not being able to walk up or down the stairs to his seats in United Spirit Arena, she talked about Papa Jack sitting in an American Disabilities Act section on the concourse level.
"My Papa Jack has a scooter, and he sits up at the very top," she said. "I told Alton that if he was able to come to the game, he could come sit up at the top by my Papa Jack. That would be OK."
When they talked basketball, Ritchie relayed news about the Lady Raiders. He had basketball stories of his own. West was a girls basketball coach in Meadow. As an activities bus driver at Brownfield High School, in 1988 he drove the Lady Cubs to Austin when Sheryl Swoopes led them to a state championship.
He often drove Brownfield teams to Ozona, where he met Amber Tarr, now a Lady Raider senior. She has been a favorite of his since. She and Ritchie fit his style of basketball.
"I like a scrambling team, not a whole lot of standing around by anybody," he said. "I coached the B team, way, way back, when it was three forwards and three guards. That was way back there."
Back in the present, West was finally healthy enough to venture outside the hospital. His trip of choice was to watch Tech practice as the Lady Raiders prepared for summer tour of Europe. Players and coaches posed for pictures with him following the workout.
The European trip and preparation for school kept Ritchie and West apart for about a month, but she planned to deliver Tech's new team poster and media guide on her next visit. West, however, had moved from the hospital to a nursing home. Ritchie tracked him down.
"He looked so much better," she said. "He told me he was doing better. We sat and talked just about everything, not just how sick he was. I talked about life in general and so did he. He looked so much better."
During her visits, Ritchie has met Norma West and other family members. (The couple has three married children and six grandchildren.) The young woman close in age to the West's youngest grandchild visits with everyone. She hugs them hello and hugs them goodbye.
"It wasn't just Dad," Smith said. "She made my mom know she was interested in both of them. She's a special girl. She sparkles. She's just got this light about her."
Alton West is determined to walk again and return to his seats to cheer on the Lady Raiders and Ritchie, the young woman with a special place in his life.
"The more I sat and listened to him, the more we had in common and the more connection we had," Ritchie said. "It was a connection that brought us together through love."
------------------------
Thanks to Ray Glass and the Avalanche Journal for bringing us these stories.
Lady Raider's visit to a fan develops into treasured friendship
When she first met him, the man was flat on his back in bed, alone in a Lubbock hospital room. His face was pale, his joints stiff. He couldn't walk and could barely talk.
Successful surgery to remove a cancerous tumor from his stomach had taken a toll on his body. He was in despair, his mind reeling from the recent death of his great-grandson.
"I think it was more serious than I thought it was," the man said of his condition on that day last July when he needed a reason to live.
Alton West found a reason when Natalie Ritchie walked into his hospital room.
Alton West and Natalie Ritchie seemingly have little in common.
He is a 75-year-old retired teacher and Baptist minister from Brownfield who lives with his wife, Norma, in a Lubbock retirement home. He suffers from Parkinson's disease, has battled cancer and is confined at times to a wheelchair. She is a 19-year-old Texas Tech sophomore from Amarillo who thrills Lady Raider fans with her 3-point shooting prowess.
They had never met until Ritchie entered his hospital room, yet now they share a special bond.
"He's really sweet. I enjoy his company," Ritchie said.
West said the feelings are mutual.
"I just was impressed by the fact she is a sweet, little girl who would do anything for you," he said.
That's why Ritchie walked through the door — that and basketball.
Tech head coach Marsha Sharp asked Ritchie to visit the ailing West after the Lady Raiders were contacted by a friend of the sick man. No one is saying who inquired on behalf of West, a Lady Raider season-ticket holder for 10 years.
"You have an angel somewhere," West's daughter, Barbara Smith, told him when he asked her how Ritchie had learned about him.
With little more than West's name, Ritchie ventured to IHS Hospital in downtown Lubbock.
"I was a little bit nervous because I heard he was so sick," she said. "When I was driving over I just prayed. I asked God to give me the wisdom to say the right things and just to calm me and to be able to communicate with him in the right way."
She arrived with an autographed Lady Raider poster for West.
"He didn't look very well at all," said Ritchie, who introduced herself and plunged ahead. She found some tape and hung the poster. They talked about basketball. They talked about their families. West had difficulty speaking, so Ritchie leaned close and quietly listened. Her voice shakes months later when she recalls the conversation.
"I asked him how he was doing and how he was feeling, and he just broke down and started crying," she said. "I think it was one of the most difficult things I have ever done in my life. I have never had a grown man that I didn't know start crying in front of me."
West was struggling to come to grips with the death of his 7-month-old great-grandson, Joshua Rowan, who had died days before while waiting for a liver transplant. Ritchie grappled for something, the right thing, to say.
"I just told him that it was OK, and although we were going to miss him so much and he was going to miss holding him, that right now Jesus was holding his grandbaby," she said. "And his grandbaby was playing in Jesus' lap and he was so happy. And that he's laughing up there and that it's OK because we'll soon be able to go up there, too, but God's taking care of him.
"He stopped crying and he looked at me and he just said I was precious. I told him I appreciated that."
The foundation was set for the bond between the retired teacher and big-hearted basketball player.
On average, the Lady Raiders receive 75 to 100 requests a month for posters, cards, notes, autographed basket-balls, telephone calls or personal visits. All the players help respond, often speaking to school children, youth groups and civic organizations.
"I think we're in a position where we can touch and change a lot of lives, and that's one of the reasons why I love it here," Ritchie said. "Seriously, I know it sounds so goofy, but that's the reason why I'm here.
"Basketball is wonderful. It's been such a blessing to me. But it's not about the game. It's about what you represent and what you do and what you say when you walk off the court that's going to have the biggest impact."
Sharp describes Ritchie as a great ambassador for the program.
"She has been unbelievable with our fans, from kids all the way up to adults who are needing some assistance," the coach said.
Ritchie returned to West's room several times last summer. West was sitting in bed on the second visit and seated in a chair on the third occasion. Once Ritchie brought a smiley-face balloon and bubbles to brighten the room. And she wasn't impressed with his blue pajamas.
"I said, 'Oh, what's going on, Alton? We need some red and black in here,' " she said.
West continued to improve, drawing inspiration from Ritchie's visits.
"She made the effort worth it," he said.
But West also was inspiring. He had a stiff, swollen elbow after his time in bed, and Ritchie saw that rehabilitation of the joint was difficult and painful — harder, she realized, than the ongoing rehabilitation of her right knee.
"It made me realize that I had it so much easier than he was having it," she said. "When I was doing my rehab I was thinking of Alton and how he was doing his. I knew I could do mine and get my legs better and ready for the year."
When they talked about families, Ritchie often told West about her grandfather and hero, Jack Ritchie. Papa Jack, his granddaughter said, is a man of faith who overcame polio, became a successful lawyer, raised a large family and never misses Tech home games.
When West was upset about not being able to walk up or down the stairs to his seats in United Spirit Arena, she talked about Papa Jack sitting in an American Disabilities Act section on the concourse level.
"My Papa Jack has a scooter, and he sits up at the very top," she said. "I told Alton that if he was able to come to the game, he could come sit up at the top by my Papa Jack. That would be OK."
When they talked basketball, Ritchie relayed news about the Lady Raiders. He had basketball stories of his own. West was a girls basketball coach in Meadow. As an activities bus driver at Brownfield High School, in 1988 he drove the Lady Cubs to Austin when Sheryl Swoopes led them to a state championship.
He often drove Brownfield teams to Ozona, where he met Amber Tarr, now a Lady Raider senior. She has been a favorite of his since. She and Ritchie fit his style of basketball.
"I like a scrambling team, not a whole lot of standing around by anybody," he said. "I coached the B team, way, way back, when it was three forwards and three guards. That was way back there."
Back in the present, West was finally healthy enough to venture outside the hospital. His trip of choice was to watch Tech practice as the Lady Raiders prepared for summer tour of Europe. Players and coaches posed for pictures with him following the workout.
The European trip and preparation for school kept Ritchie and West apart for about a month, but she planned to deliver Tech's new team poster and media guide on her next visit. West, however, had moved from the hospital to a nursing home. Ritchie tracked him down.
"He looked so much better," she said. "He told me he was doing better. We sat and talked just about everything, not just how sick he was. I talked about life in general and so did he. He looked so much better."
During her visits, Ritchie has met Norma West and other family members. (The couple has three married children and six grandchildren.) The young woman close in age to the West's youngest grandchild visits with everyone. She hugs them hello and hugs them goodbye.
"It wasn't just Dad," Smith said. "She made my mom know she was interested in both of them. She's a special girl. She sparkles. She's just got this light about her."
Alton West is determined to walk again and return to his seats to cheer on the Lady Raiders and Ritchie, the young woman with a special place in his life.
"The more I sat and listened to him, the more we had in common and the more connection we had," Ritchie said. "It was a connection that brought us together through love."
------------------------
Thanks to Ray Glass and the Avalanche Journal for bringing us these stories.