MINNEAPOLIS — The Minnesota Twins welcomed dozens of 10U softball teams for their parade of champions event at Target Field.
The champs got to walk around the diamond and be recognized in front of thousands of fans. However, not every champion was physically on the field.
“I wish she was here; I’d much rather being carrying her than this, but she’s here with us,” said Dave Shepard talking about his 9-year-old daughter Addy, who died on July 1.
Dave, Angie and their son Jaxson walked for their daughter Addy, Jaxson’s twin. Addy was a pitcher for the Prior Lake 10 U softball team. She was diagnosed with Leukemia in June and died 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.
It was an unexpected diagnosis. Her mother Angie said she didn’t have any symptoms leading up to their hospital visit.
“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.”
Her parents said she had a foot injury that kept her out of the circle for several games. Angie said they first saw a doctor in the beginning of May.
“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.
After she was admitted to the hospital in late June, Addy was placed on life support within days. At the same time, her team was competing in the championship game without their pitcher and head coach, Dave.
“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 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.
It’s still hard to believe how fast it all went.
"To go from a bloody nose and a foot injury to death, four days later, it’s scary for every parent,” Angie said.
Her family remembers her 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.”
Dave said coaching his daughter was challenging because the line between coach and dad was thin, but they were moments he’ll cherish forever.
“It was a lot of fun, we had a lot of fun,” he said. “I coach because you have an opportunity to give these kids a light, you have an opportunity to teach them it’s more than just yourself.”
It’s a lesson that has sunk in with his team. Addy’s teammates wore purple ribbons, her favorite color, with her name and jersey number, No. 28, painted on. Showing up for Addy’s family, like they show up for each other at games.
“Team sports do a great job at getting kids to show up for each other,” Dave said.
Her family wants to create something in her honor and are in talks with a few organizations.
“We’re going to make change; we have to because Addy has touched so many people,” Angie said.
The Twins created a one-of-a-kind jersey for Addy that had her last name and jersey number on the back. Her twin brother, Jaxson, got to throw out the first pitch at the game, after they played her favorite song.
Addy’s family along with several of her teammates got to watch the game from one of the suites as Addy watched the game from above the clouds.