Numerous 10U softball teams were invited by the Minnesota Twins to their parade of champions event at Target Field. In front of thousands of people, the champions were able to stroll around the diamond and receive recognition. Not all champions, though, were present on the field.
Regarding his daughter Addy, who passed away on July 1, Dave Shepard remarked, “I wish she was here; I’d much rather be carrying her than this, but she’s here with us.” Addy was nine years old.
In support of their twin daughter Addy, Dave, Angie, and their son Jaxson went for a stroll. For the Prior Lake 10 U softball squad, Addy was a pitcher. June was her leukemia diagnosis month, and she passed just a few days later. “We went to St. Francis Thursday morning for a bloody nose, and they did some bloodwork, and they said ‘well, her blood numbers are really bad. She’s got a really high white [blood cell] count, a really low platelet count, which is why the bloody nose wouldn’t go away and at the time it’s either a really bad infection or she has leukemia,” he said.
“She was watching a TV show on her iPad, and she had no fear because we’re just going to the hospital, and her in mind she had a bloody nose,” Angie said. “She had no fever, she was eating, she was drinking.”
The diagnosis caught us off guard. Prior to their hospital visit, her mother Angie said she had no symptoms. “We just thought it was a sports injury, so we had x-rays, and then it got better, and she was playing again. Then June 6, we went back into Tria, and they saw a difference between May and June, so thought that maybe there was a stress fracture, so they put her in the boot at that point and time. We found out later that the leukemia had infected her bones and that’s why she was sore,” she said.
Her foot issue, according to her parents, kept her out of the circle for multiple games. They initially saw a doctor at the beginning of May, according to Angie. “We were there, were in the hospital during the state tournament and watching, and she at that point was on life support, so we just told her play-by-play, who was hitting, who was pitching, who got out,” her parents said. “The girls played their hearts out that weekend.” And they did it all for Addy.
Addy was put on life support a few days after being admitted to the hospital in late June. Her team, sans Dave, their head coach and pitcher, was playing in the championship game at the same time. “[Addy] was there, oh yeah, absolutely, for sure, I mean they had the motivation, the desire, pulling everybody together is always hard to do on any team, but they all had a focus of winning for Addy,” Angie said. The speed at which it all happened is still unbelievable.
According to Angie, “for every parent, it’s scary to go from a bloody nose and a foot injury to death, four days later.” She is remembered by her family for her infectious spirit. “I had no idea the lengths of people she touched,” Angie said. “She made everybody feel special and when she was with them. They were her focus.” His team has truly understood this lesson. Her name and jersey number, No. 28, were painted on purple ribbons that her teammates wore. Purple is Addy’s favorite color. Showing up for Addy’s family, like they show up for each other at sports.
For Addy, the Twins designed a unique jersey with her jersey number and last name on the back. The first pitch of the game was given to her twin brother Jaxson, following the playing of her all-time favorite song. Addy watched the game from above the clouds, and her family and a few of her teammates were able to watch it from one of the suites.
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