Eleven-year-old Gage Webber couldn’t understand why his parents drove him and his sister up to Wrigley Field on Wednesday. After all, Gage knew the Chicago Cubs are now at their spring training home in Mesa, Arizona getting ready for the 2023 baseball season.
But when Gage arrived he was escorted inside ball park, he couldn’t have imagined the surprise that the Cubs and Advocate Children’s Hospital had in store for him. It was a trip for the family to experience Cubs spring training in Arizona, February 23-26.
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“I was really surprised, excited and shocked,” said Gage, especially when he saw him name flash on the Wrigley Jumbotron.
Gage, a fifth grader at Grimmer Middle School in Crown Point, deserves it. He’s been through a lot in his young life. Born with a congenital heart defect known as pulmonary atresia, he’s had two major surgeries, including heart valve replacement in 2020.
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Gage, his parents, Brian and Charisse Webber, and his sister, Kara, 14, will receive VIP treatment during their adventure. That includes playing catch and a game of whiffle ball with some of the Cubs players and receiving plenty of Cubs swag and special treatment.
Gage already felt like a VIP when he entered the Cubs’ dugout and walked onto the Wrigley Field grass for the surprise announcement. He was joined by other kids from the Chicago region who have serious medical issues — and now a trip to Cubs spring training too.
This is the fifth year Advocate Children’s Hospital has sent families to Cubs spring training, according to a statement from the hospital. While the program was on hold for two years during the pandemic, 26 children and teens and their families have enjoyed these all-expenses paid experiences in partnership with the Chicago Cubs.
Dr. Michael Cappello, the hospital’s vice-chair of Pediatrics, explained that “healing” goes well beyond medications, surgeries and procedures — that trip to spring training is a part of the patient’s recovery.
“For a few days, there are no white coats, tests or concern, just the chance to have fun,” he said. “Struggling with a serious health condition, at least temporarily, has taken some of the fun out of being a child. They have all spent way too much time in hospitals and physician offices receiving the treatment they need. They all have incredibly supportive families who have also made sacrifices and been impacted by the disease. They are all Cubs fans and will most definitely appreciate all the surprises in store for them.”
Gage said he never thought he’d actually get to step onto Wrigley Field, but he’s setting himself up to do it with a Major League uniform on some day. A heart defect hasn’t stopped him from becoming a pretty good baseball player himself. A member of the Playmakers travel baseball team, Gage is a top pitcher and plays third base.
“We’re very lucky that through all his health problems and everything that he has been able to play travel sports,” Charisse Webber said. “Gage eats, sleeps and breathes baseball.”
Gage will be going to spring training in hopes of getting a few pointers from the Cubs themselves. He said he’s most looking forward to talking baseball with third baseman Patrick Wisdom and recent acquisition shortstop Dansby Swanson.
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Advocate’s offer to take the Webbers to spring training came as a complete surprise to the family. Of course, it wasn’t easy keeping Gage and his sister from wondering why that were doing at Wrigley field during a weekday afternoon in February. So, the parents told the kids not to ask any questions and that they were in for a big surprise. Well, it couldn’t have been bigger for Gage.
Likewise for the other kids who joined him for the revealing at Wrigley, Gael Alvarado Muñoz, a 15-year-old brain tumor patient from Des Plaines, Illinois, and Daniella Castro, a 17-year-old leukemia patient from Rolling Meadows, Illinois.
Jim Masters is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
