(Copyright
Make-a-wish)
Ozzie & Make a wish foundation
Feb. 11) If you were to have walked past luxury suite S last Thursday night and had peered in at Austin Morris, you would have thought he was any other young fan, cheering on the Islanders. Based on appearance, you might have made a few assumptions.
Looking at his jersey from behind, you would have guessed that his favorite player is Chris Osgood. The big smile on his face would have tipped you off that he was enjoying himself immensely. When he jumped up to celebrate a goal or one of Osgood's many great saves of the night, you would have thought he was a healthy boy from Long Island, living the life of a normal 14-year old.
Perception doesn't always reflect reality with accuracy.
True, Austin was having the time of his life, rooting on Ozzie and his teammates. But "healthy" is not a word that enters into his vocabulary often, at least not in terms of describing himself. And there's no exit on the Long Island Expressway for Bend, Oregon, where he lives with his mother, Kelly.
Usually when Austin travels outside Oregon, it's to visit a hospital in Bethesda, Maryland, where he is treated for a variety of medical problems, most of them stemming from an extremely rare disease called Autoimmune Lymphroproliferative Syndrome (ALPS).
As a five-year-old, he was only the fourth person in the world diagnosed with ALPS and today is only one in about a hundred to have it. It's a disease that attacks antibodies in the system, eating up platelets and blood cells in the process. It subjects him to internal bleeding and often covers him in bruises.
He is always suffering from one symptom or another, but when the disease flares up, he needs to be hospitalized to stable the condition. Four hospital stays make it an average year; many years are much worse.
Due to the nature of his disease, Austin has a difficult time fighting off illnesses. Common colds easily turn into bronchitis, pneumonia and more dangerous infections. He's deaf in one ear and lost partial hearing in the other, due to a bout with meningitis in 1994. He's had his spleen and appendix removed.
In 1997, he had the first of two strokes, and a doctor told his mother if they didn't start thinking about making a request with the Make-A-Wish Foundation, they might not get the chance.
Austin's original wish was to go to Disney World, but he had a specific weekend he wanted to go - when his favorite team at the time, the Detroit Red Wings, would be playing a few hours away in Tampa Bay. When Make-A-Wish told him they couldn't arrange anything with the Red Wings, as that would have been two wishes instead of one, Austin surprised them with his reaction.
Forget Florida then," he said. "I want to go to Detroit."
Austin had become a big fan of hockey during the 1997 playoffs when his doctor suggested he might like the sport. Before long, he was playing hockey video games which assisted in his rehab and when healthy enough even plays goalie for his school roller hockey team. Being a fan of the game has become a way of life.
In March of 1999, Make-A-Wish sent him to Detroit to fulfill a relatively simple wish. All he wanted to do was meet his favorite player, Chris Osgood.
"I was overwhelmed at the time, that someone's wish was to meet me," said Osgood. "I think I was more nervous about it than he was."
Austin watched two games at Joe Louis Arena and met Osgood and his teammates. At a team luncheon, he was approached by Sergei Fedorov, who offered an autograph. To Fedorov's surprise, Austin politely declined. Accustomed to seeing the players in uniform, he hadn't recognized the Red Wing star in street clothes, although his answer may have been the same if he had.
After all, he wasn't Chris Osgood.
Austin spent days getting to know the goaltender, who gave him more than just the inspiration he so desperately needed.
"Because of the stroke, he reads and writes at a second-grade level," said Kelly Morris. "He can speak fine but can't do the thought process to get it on paper. Chris gave him a video of the 1998 Stanley Cup that he ended up watching every day. He can recite every word. Because of that, we discovered that the only way he can learn is from repetitive visuals."
"Now with schoolwork, they try to use videos whenever possible and after he sees it often enough, the information starts to sink in. Without that video, we wouldn't have found that out."
Along with bags full of souvenirs, purchased for him by Osgood, Austin also left Detroit with his address and phone number.
"Chris told Austin to call anytime he needed to," Kelly said. "But he's shy and sometimes it's hard for him to hear over the phone. We sent some letters but when he moved to New York, we didn't have a way to get to get back in touch.
Austin got really sick again in 2001 and from September to December, was in the hospital five times. By the end of the year, he had to go back every nine days. His mother was overcome with fear and desperate for a way to give her son hope.
"Austin had given up on life before and Chris had helped him look to the future. I knew I had to try to get in touch with him again."
In her imagination, Kelly would hop on a plane to New York and track Osgood down herself. In her mind, she could fly herself and her son to Long Island, take in a game and find the man who had lifted his spirits in the past.
But beyond health concerns, there were serious financial ones. Kelly, a single parent, had lost her job of 20 years. With outrageous medical costs and no income, she soon lost her house and car. Today, she lives largely on credit.
Simple things that many of us take for granted, such as a night out at the movies, are luxuries the family can't afford. Sometimes, they get a boost from an unexpected source. On December 31, the Portland Winter Hawks of the WHL dedicated their New Year's Eve game to Austin and raised $1,000 to help them out. Every penny counted.
When Austin's health deteriorated to the point where he was in the hospital every few days, his teacher Mick Kuehl asked Kelly if there was anything he could do. Kelly, who was on her way back to Maryland with Austin, told Kuehl what she needed: a way to get in touch with Chris Osgood, an address where their letter wouldn't get lost. Kuehl came through with much more.
He put Kelly in touch with Heather Umen, the Islanders' Manager of Community Relations, who wanted to do something to help. After checking with Islanders brass, she was able to call Kelly back with some good news. Austin was to come to New York to see Chris. The Islanders would cover all expenses, including traveling costs and a stay at the Long Island Marriott.
Osgood remembered Austin the moment his name was mentioned.
"You don't forget someone like that," he said. "Austin had such a positive outlook when I met him in Detroit. He was so strong. He'd inspired me then and I was really happy to hear he was coming to Long Island."
Less than a month after Kuehl's fax made it to the Islanders, Austin was out of the hospital and on a plane, heading to New York. Although he'd been at the airport with his mom at 3:00 that morning and had only arrived at the hotel an hour before gametime, he was wide-eyed that night, rooting on the Islanders from a luxury suite. A constant stream of strangers stopped by to say hello, and mature well beyond his age, Austin stopped watching the game to meet each one, even though it meant missing portions of his third NHL game ever.
The Islanders beat the St. Louis Blues 4-3.
Practice was cancelled the following morning, but Osgood went to Iceworks in Syosset to meet Austin. They chatted about hockey, Long Island, their families and more hockey. They made plans to catch up later that evening at the Islanders' inaugural fashion show, to benefit none other than the Make-A-Wish foundation, the organization that helped initiate the friendship two years ago.
Sporting a Red Wings polo shirt that Osgood had given him in Detroit, Austin was teased by several Islanders and Chris was directed to get him some "better clothing." It was a good icebreaker for Austin, who is shy by nature. Get him on the topic of hockey, however, and he can talk all day, and likely teach you a thing or two in the process. He has an incredible memory, especially when it comes to anything relating to his favorite sport.
It was a long day for Austin, whose chronic pains include headaches from narrowing veins in his brain, caused by one of his strokes, and sharp pains in his legs that make physical activity difficult, but despite all the running around, it was the best he’d felt in a long time.
"Nothing hurts today," he told Kelly, whose eyes welled up with tears of joy.
Austin attended the morning skate on Thursday and noshed on a New York bagel (naturally, the best he'd ever had) as he watched the Islanders practice. Afterwards, he spent time with the players in the locker room, where everyone made note of his updated attire: an Islanders road jersey and a 30th anniversary cap.
Equipment manager Joe McMahon took Austin and Kelly on a tour of his room and showed him how to sharpen skates, letting him assist on Alexei Yashin's. Yashin showed him how he works on his sticks.
When asked if he'd give up on the Islanders if Ozzie were ever traded, Austin said he'd have to cheer on both teams. The Islanders are on his favorites list to stay.
Before the game, Austin watched warm-ups and took a ride on the Zamboni.
"Oh my stars!" exclaimed Kelly, watching her son with an ear-to-ear smile.
On Thursday night, the people who popped into his suite to say hello were no longer strangers. To Austin and Kelly, they were now friends. Again, Austin cheered on the Islanders, perhaps even more emphatically than he'd done on Tuesday night, because this time Osgood was in net for the duration of the game and now he knew the whole team.
Again he served as a good luck charm, witnessing another win, this time a 4-1 victory in which Osgood was fittingly named the first star of the game. As the team came off the ice, the Islanders extended their gloves so Austin could give hockey's version of a high-five. When Osgood came off the ice, Austin stretched up on tiptoes to pat his helmet. Osgood handed him his game-winning stick, bringing Kelly to tears again.
Austin then celebrated with the team in the locker room.
Although Austin and Kelly were originally scheduled to depart on Friday morning, Islanders executives heard that the pair, whose only traveling experiences have been for medical attention, had never been to Manhattan. The Islanders arranged for a limousine to take them from their hotel to the city and back. An itinerary of the best tourist spots had been mapped out for them.
Austin was thrilled to be spending another day in New York. But when he heard the Islanders would be holding a practice at Iceworks that day, the city trip lost its luster.
"I'd rather see Chris again than the Statue of Liberty," he said.
He wasn't kidding.
Austin and Kelly spent the morning at practice, where the team engaged in a spirited scrimmage. Afterwards, Osgood took them to lunch, where they spent hours talking.
Kelly watched her son smile, listened to his carefree laughter and reflected on their trip.
"What was my favorite part? Knowing that Austin hasn't hurt. This has had such a positive impact on his life. I've seen him shine these past few days."
Kelly hopes the memories will keep Austin inspired, and for once, both mother and son are looking ahead to the future, trying to find a way to give back.
"I want to look at things a lot differently now," Kelly explained. "Austin and I have talked about wanting to somehow work in conjunction with an organization like the Make-A-Wish Foundation, to grant kids hockey wishes. If it's made such a difference to him, it will make one on somebody else. Austin's wish was a miracle, and it led to another miracle, which was being here with Chris and the Islanders.
"He hasn't felt any pain since we've been here. That's the power of hockey."
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J