Safe Haven - Regis College

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24REGIS TODAYNumber 7 then shows Number 5 somecradling techniques. He puts theball in the pocket and twists thestick back and forth quickly. Itlooks like the ball is going to fallout time and time again, but itdoesn’t. They both smile as heshows how this gravity-defyingtrick works.In short, it’s a perfect afternoonfor Number 5, Sean Lambert, a12-year-old boy with special needswho’s been “drafted” by the team. Sean broke hisarm at school about six weeks ago, and he’s beencooped up inside the house for too long. Playingwith Number 7, Stephan Bottex, a 21-year-oldRegis junior, is the first time he’s been able to playin a while.“Sean sees Stephan and he lights up,” saysKristy, Sean’s mother, as she sits at her kitchentable in Milford, Mass. Sean isn’t a kid who lightsup easily.Sean has a wide range of physical and emotionalissues, and the root cause of them all isn’t clear.Physically, he has six herniated disks, kyphosis(a curving of the spine that leads to a hunchbackposture), scholiosis, bilateral hip screws from asurgery to fix a dislocated and almost-dislocatedhip, and hypotonia, a disorder that causes extremelow muscle tone and often low strength. Plus thiswinter he broke his arm.The hypotonia is quite severe, and Sean getseasily winded. It’s usually caused by some overarchingproblem, such as Down’s syndrome ormuscular dystrophy, but the cause of Sean’sdelayed language skills, and can therefore seemanywhere from standoffish to downright angry orrude. He often answers in a quick “yes” or “no,” orby simply shaking his head. Because of this, Kristyoften speaks for Sean, as he doesn’t normally communicatewith others who haven’t known him fora while.But he does open up to Stephan, somethingthat Kristy and her husband Dennis have noticedand delighted in. To others, Sean may still seemwithdrawn, but when he’s with the lacrosse team,to his parents, Sean is elated and personable.“When I first met Sean,” said Stephan, a nursingmajor, “he wouldn’t even shake my hand. He satthere with his hoodie up. Then he came to practiceand he wasn’t wearing his hood. And today weactually had a conversation.“When we were out there playing and the ballrolled across the street, I told Sean and Dennis[Sean’s little brother, known as Little D] to hangback,” said Stephan. “Sean leaned in and said, ‘Ihave a secret.’” Sean and Little D proceeded to tellhim about a time they were outside playing soccerand the ball rolled across the street and Little Dran after it, causing traffic to stop. “I don’t thinkthey’ve ever told their mom that.”It was a “guy’s moment,” a sharing of confidencesand opening up that Sean rarely does withpeople outside his immediate family.Kristy hopes to see more of these opportunitiesto connect with the team in the future because therelationship has been growing so well thus far.“They take Sean for Sean,” she said. “He has alot of challenges, physically, mentally, whatever.But they don’t judge him. He’s one of the guys.”“They take Sean for Sean. He has a lot of challenges, physically,mentally, whatever. But they don’t judge him. He’s one of the guys.”hypotonia isn’t understood, even though he’s hada lot of testing done. The unknown is particularlyhard on the family.“Truthfully, we don’t know if we’ll have himfor another year or another 30,” says Kristy,“but we’re really grateful to have him. And we’reluckier than a lot of families. He’s such a kindheartedkid.”The softer side of Sean isn’t typically seen by theoutside world. In addition to his physical ailments,Sean has a mood disorder that can make himdefiant and sometimes even violent, and he hasSean was paired with Regis through TeamImpact, a new nonprofit organization based inQuincy, Mass., that matches kids with life-threateningdiseases with college sports teams. Sean isinvited to all games and practices like any otherplayer. Though he can’t participate in the sameactivities as the rest of the team, he can help rundrills and cheer the team on. He even has his ownwhistle. The team also threw Sean a draft party,where he got his own custom matching team gear,including a lacrosse stick in red and gold, with thenumber “5” on it.
“They call lacrosse the ‘fraternal sport.’It’s a way to connect with others.”Top two photos: Sean Lambert with Regis lacrosse player StephanBottex ’13. Bottom: Sean with his mother Kristy and father Dennis.“They call lacrosse the ‘fraternal sport,’” saysCoach Josh Blumenthal. “It’s a way to connectwith others.”It was important to Blumenthal that the teamparticipates in a meaningful form of communityservice, and building a connection with a familywas more appealing to him than doing a one-dayservice project or clinic. He wanted it to be “morelong-lasting.” The plan isn’t to start with a new kidnext season, but to continue to welcome Sean backand maybe add more local kids to the team.“The reason we did this was twofold,”Blumenthal says. “Number one, I’d be lyingif I didn’t mention that community service ismandated by the school, but more important isnumber 2: I told the guys, ‘Think of the issuesyou go through—schoolwork, break up with yourgirlfriend. Not to belittle your experiences, butnow put that in relation to Sean. He has all theseissues and just fell and broke his arm. You can getup each day and play sports. He can’t.’”Blumenthal’s goal to have the team learn fromSean has been a slow process, but it is working.Sean has become a little more comfortable eachtime he’s around the players, and was even laughingand smiling at his draft party.“Sean’s definitely humbled me,” says communicationsmajor Brody McCauley ’13. “When he was10, a group like the Make-A-Wish Foundation gavehim a wish and he wanted to go to Washington,D.C., and visit the graves of the presidents and laya rose on them and thank them for starting thiscountry. That’s amazing.”As much as the team members have grown toadmire and appreciate Sean, it can seem almosttoo good to be true to Sean’s parents. Sean’semotional issues can be embarrassing in public,even when the people around them understandthe situation.“It’s hard to open right up,” says Kristy. “But theteam has opened their hearts so we’re trying.”Plans are being made for Sean to go to morepractices now that the weather is getting warmerand he is getting more comfortable. Blumenthaland Kristy are also trying to find a time for a groupof the players to go to a movie with Sean, somethinghe really likes to do. It’s a way for all partiesinvolved to continue to get to know each other.“I know he’s not the only kid out there that hasissues that also cares for other people, but we’rehis mom and dad and we think he’s special,” saysKristy, “And this team sees him that way too.”“I tell Kristy, We’re getting more out of this thanyou are,” says Blumenthal.25SPRING 12
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