"FOR THE LOVE OF THE GAME"
On September 25, 2003, we received a phone call at 7:50 am from Florida where my oldest son Christopher was living at the time. The call was from Broward County Hospital in Fort Lauderdale. It was the phone call that would change our lives forever. I was told that my son had died as a result of a car accident while he was on the way home from work at 6:50 am, after working all night. As a parent, it is the most devastating thing that you can go through.
Some people think that as time goes on the death of a loved one will become easier to bear. But since the death of my son, for me, it is becoming harder and harder. I have dreams about him and the most difficult part is I know when I wake up he will not be there or will he be coming back. You never think that to visit your son, you will have to go to a cemetery. I had a very special bond with Chris - we told each other everything: no secrets, no lies, we were friends - best friends.
In September, it will be 8 years since my Chris died. I relive that day everyday and I feel the pain as I felt when I was told by the doctors that they did everything they could to save my son's life, the same pain I felt when I had to pick out a coffin for my son to be buried in and the same pain when I went to see the car that caused his death. My pain will continue for the rest of my life and I have come to terms with that. My family and I are still trying to learn how to live without Chris.
What makes it hard now is that I think about what if Chris were alive and what would he be doing with his life, his career and if he would be married. I will never know any of those feelings of seeing your son go on with his life as he grows into adulthood and raises a family of his own. All this was taken away in an instant.
This Fund was created to keep Chris' spirit alive, to help another family with their child's college dreams, and that the recipients of these scholarships, although will never know Chris personally but will remember him and what he stood for on and off the playing field.