A special Fan Friday!
“Thought you and Ben may be interested to see Seth sporting his Steelers swag as he officially graduated from high school Sunday!
It’s been a long road for him to get to this point. We are praising God for all those that have invested their care, time love & support.
Seth is praying for and excited for the season! It always lifts his spirits. He and Dr Stulak and nurse Rosie talk often about this common bond.
We are grateful for you and Big Ben more than you know! Blessings to you and your families.
Love and respect,
Julie and Seth”
After airing a story on ABC 6 News of a Mayo Clinic surgeon giving his signed Ben Roethlisberger football to a teenager with a rare, degenerative condition, Ben Roethlisberger reached out to tell us the signature was fake. What came next was remarkable!! — Hannah Tiede, ABC News- Rochester, Minnesota.
It’s a story you’ll only see on ABC 6 news…one that started with an incredible act of kindness.
“Seth has a very rare autoimmune disease that is killing all of his healthy cells and tissues,” said Julie Bayles. “Basically its progressive degenerative; it is choosing which organ system it wants to attack next.”
For the past 11 years, Julie has been taking her son, Seth Bayles, to Mayo Clinic for specialized treatment. It’s quite the trip, considering they live in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
“It’s worth the 600-mile drive,” said Julie. “We feel like we are the only patient they have at the time.”
Nothing could be truer after a complication with Seth’s feeding tube. It was at an emergency visit on August 8th, where Seth met Patrick Quandt.
“I had an immediate connection as soon as we walked […]
From Dr. Howard, President of Robert Morris University
Thanks to our friends @_BigBen7, @TeamJuJu, @joehaden23, @JamesConner_ , @DevlinHodges10 and the @Steelers for spending time training at RMU earlier this summer.
Here We Go Steelers and Let’s Go Bobby Mo! pic.twitter.com/J7NEldhd6a
— Dr. Chris Howard (@DrChrisHoward) July 30, 2020
‘Having Ben back brings normalcy’
From Bob Labriola, Steelers.com:
During a Zoom call today, the Steelers offensive coordinator was asked if there is anything about this run-up to the 2020 regular season that would qualify as normal, and somewhat shockingly Fichtner didn’t need much time to think of something.
“That might be the easiest question to answer,” said Fichtner. “Normal now becomes Ben Roethlisberger back in the huddle. He’s paired up with Maurkice Pouncey, David DeCastro and some of those guys up front. That just gives you the normalcy. That will be normal. That’s what we’re used to. Just getting back to normal will be looking at a group of mostly experienced players and being excited about what this journey, this season, is going to bring.”
Fichtner admitted that he didn’t get a chance to spend time with Roethlisberger during the offseason, but he was able to see him doing some throwing on the videos that were making the rounds on social media. That changed over the last day or so now that quarterbacks have been allowed to return to their teams, and even though Fichtner indicated he expected to see Roethlisberger throwing a football soon, the rules set forth by the NFL and the NFLPA don’t allow for something as basic as a padless 7-on-7 drill until the middle of August. And don’t forget, no preseason games this summer.
“We’ll have to take advantage of those game situations we can present for him against our defense,” said Fichtner about how the process of getting Roethlisberger ready is likely to unfold. “Naturally, the first thing is we have to get a feel for where he is, and his arm will tell us. It’s not unusual for us to work him a day, then work him a half-day, then get him a day’s rest, and he knows that routine. It’s going to be a little bit different kind of camp, and so I think we’ll have to play that by ear (in terms of) how he feels and how much he wants, because there are going to be times when he wants it all, and we’re going to have to back him off. That’s a good thing.”
You can read more here.
Pupdate: It’s a Fur Baby Friday!
The way a puppy grows –
A little on his nose…
And a little on his ears;
In half a dozen years.😉
Big Ben meets police dog his foundation provided
From Debbie Wachter, New Castle News:
If it weren’t for Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, the Shenango Township Police Department wouldn’t have a police canine.
Roethlisberger had a chance to meet Kalo, a 5-year-old, all-black German shepherd, face to face Wednesday during a massive food distribution at the Shenango Elementary School parking lot. The star player was there with his wife, Ashley, a Laurel High School graduate, to assist with the Trucks of Hope/Convoy of Hope/NOW venture to give away boxes and bags of food and other supplies to more than 1,500 people in a drive-through distribution.
Kalo, whose handler is Shenango Township patrolman Dan Tressler, was on site to meet Roethlisberger while the distribution was under way.
The police department acquired Kalo from the Shallow Creek Kennels in South Pymatuning Township, Mercer County. He was paid for with funds from the Ben Roethlisberger Foundation, founded by Roethlisberger, which disperses grants to police and fire department canine units throughout the United States.
Kalo was born in Hungary, and answers to a variety of commands in English, German and Czechoslovakian, Tressler said. He is trained for patrol and for narcotics detective.
“This was the first time they ever met,” Tressler said.
The township police department received grant of about $14,000 to $14,500 for the dog, which also covered the cost of his training, he said. He’s had the dog in his care since 2016.
“It was great that he helped us out,” Tressler said of Roethlisberger, “because I don’t know if we could have afforded it otherwise.”
Kalo is the only canine officer on the Shenango police force.
For more information about Ben’s foundation please contact Jessica Duffaut at www.givingback.org.
‘We want to help the community’
“We are passing out a lot of food. We are boxing everything up. I saw the crazy amounts of personal hygiene stuff, food, baby food. We are excited to see the joy on people’s faces.” — Ben.
From Teresa Varley at Steelers.com:
Ben and Ashley Roethlisberger and Vance and Kendi McDonald know that families are hurting right now. They know there is a need for the basic necessities, things as simplistic as bread and milk, with so many still impacted because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
That need, that lack of resources for so many, is why the Roethlisbergers and McDonalds once again teamed with Convoy of Hope to help those in Western Pennsylvania, in particular those in the New Castle community where Ashley Roethlisberger grew up.
“We want to help the community, this is my wife’s community, where she grew up in New Castle. We did one a few weeks ago at Heinz Field, so to be here in New Castle to help the community, it’s a way we can show our kids and the next generation it’s about love and helping others. It shouldn’t be about us. The more we can do, the happier we are.” — Ben.
The Roethlisbergers, McDonalds and Convoy of Hope worked with Jubilee Ministries International, Nourishing Others Well-Being Project and the Christian Chamber of Commerce of Western Pennsylvania to host a drive-thru food giveaway for up to 1,500 families.
There were cars lined up for more than a mile before the distribution even began, further highlighting how strong the need is.
“They have such a need here. Convoy of Hope, and all of the partners who are working together, can go to these smaller communities and provide more meals. There has always been a need to reach out and help. There have always been people who are struggling and in need of food and especially during these times, people who have normally been okay have found themselves in difficult situations. It was a blessing that the people in Pittsburgh have focused on what the needs in the city are and how we can meet them. We’re thankful for Convoy of Hope because that is their mission, to feed the hungry and clothe the naked. We’re just happy to be able to […]