‘No hesitation.’ Lakewood Ranch team surprises baseball mom battling breast cancer
While a Lakewood Ranch mother was home recovering from a breast cancer operation earlier this month, she did not expect to see her son’s former Little League Baseball teammates at her doorstep.
Six months ago, Chirstine Olander received a call from her close friend and neighbor Angela Combs. The two have been friends since they moved into the same neighborhood nearly 12 years ago.
They formed a bond, calling each other daily. They were active members of a baseball mom group created when their sons played Little League Baseball and worked together at C3 revenue cycle solutions, a company Olander started.
Combs suggested Christine go to the doctor for a check-up on this particular call. Olander’s doctor scheduled her to have a mammogram, and soon after that, she was diagnosed with breast cancer.
As a result of her diagnosis, Christine had a double mastectomy surgery in February and could have lost her life when she later developed a pulmonary embolism in her lungs.
While she recovers at her home, she remains on the hearts and minds of her friends, the baseball mom group, and the young men with who her son played Little League, who now play varsity baseball for Lakewood Ranch High School. However, her son plays for Cardinal Mooney Catholic High School in Sarasota.
“I asked my son if the team could do something for her,” Combs said. “I was proud because, with no hesitation, he said sure, they organized it themselves, got in their cars after practice, and showed up at her door.”
“I can still see the look of surprises on her face when she saw it was them,” she added.
Each player handed her a pink rose, signed a card, and wrote an uplifting message.
Olander’s baseball mom group also added to the moment, they started a meal train, and each made a meal for her and her family to enjoy while she continues to recover.
