Baseball adventure

The history of baseball in Mexico runs deep. From the origins of the game in the 1800's to the Mexican League that began in 1925, and all the way up until the 1957 Little League World Series Champions, the passion and enthusiasm for baseball in Mexico still exists today including right here in Celestun.

Kenn records the out at first

Our friend Kenn has been lucky enough to have been invited a few years ago to play on one of the local teams.  Originally, he suspects it was at least in part due to the fact that his van could seat most of the team to travel to their away games.  But he quickly become a good friend and valuable member of the team and is obviously well like, respected and a welcome addition to their games.

Kenn gets a hit, and later scores a run

Kenn's son Cody, Wanda's daughter Cassandra, and I headed over to the ball-park today to watch Kenn play a game.  Scheduled for 1:30, they were still several players short and had no opposing team there by 2:30.  So Cody and Cassandra quickly drove back to the house to get running shoes to help fill the roster to get a game going.  But by the time they returned, enough regular players had finally arrived to get the game underway.

Cody and Cassandra with Osvaldo and Kenn at the ball park

Our team quickly jumped ahead with about a 7-2 lead within a couple of innings.  By about the 7th inning, with the game pretty much in the bag for us, Cassandra asked to just have a chance to bat without playing in the field.  So in she went and on the second pitch hit a strong grounder towards the short stop.  She got a great jump towards first base but a good play and accurate throw beat her there for the final out of the game. Realizing she was thrown out, Cassandra slowed her run just before the bag and stepped down awkwardly on her left foot then collapsed onto the sand.


My first thought was that she was just goofing around although her knees had obviously gotten scraped up pretty bad in the fall.
But the look on her face and plea for help got my heart pounding and running to her to support her and help her off

Cassandra gets a hit!

the field.  Her ankle was already badly swollen and discolouring so it was obvious that a trip to the hospital was in order.

While I ran for the car, Kenn helped her back to the road to meet me then got us some ice for the trip.  After a quick stop to pick up her mom Wanda, I got our little Honda Fit to reach near take-off speeds on the 100km trip across town, through the jungle, other towns and villages and around the large city of Merida and then finally into emergency at the Star Medica Hospital in record time.

Cassandra's X-ray and some cash to pay for it

After an examination, x-rays, and a consultation with the fantastic (and apparently very good-looking I'm told) orthopedic specialist Dr. Carlos E. Reyes De Caceres, her diagnosis of a bad sprain and fracture was confirmed.

After Dr. De Caceres applied a fiberglass cast, supplied some crutches, and Wanda picked up medication, we were back on the road, for a slower, more leisurely return home to Celestun.

Dr. De Caceres applies a fiberglass cast to Cassandra's ankle

Do I hear "pre-boarding" in my travel plans?

So a really fun and exciting time at the ball park was unfortunately followed by a traumatic event. But in time, our Winter Solstice day of 2014 will eventually give Cassandra a good story to tell.