Latest news with #teammates
CBS News
17 hours ago
- Health
- CBS News
Massachusetts high school baseball player celebrates end of radiation treatment with teammates
The baseball field at North Reading High School has been getting a lot of use this season. They've made it to the playoffs after all. But their inspiration to play better and practice harder has come from a teammate who was not on the field this year. Brady Cullen is a 16-year-old sophomore at NRHS who would normally be finishing a spring season in his position on third base. Last August, he and his family got a devastating diagnosis of a brain tumor (pilocytic astrocytoma.) The non-cancerous tumor was too close to his brain stem to be operated on. After months of appointments, his medical team at Mass General Hospital recommended radiation to stop it from growing. Brady rings bell after six weeks of radiation This week, Brady finished his 30th session. Six weeks of radiation, five days a week. When Brady rang the bell in the halls of MGH he wasn't alone. "It was unbelievable. It was hard not to just break down right there in the hospital," Brady recalled. When he turned around, he found his entire baseball team lining up in the halls. Cheering him on as he left his last appointment in his months-long battle. North Reading sophomore Brady Cullen is greeted by his baseball teammates after completing treatment at Mass General Brigham. Mass General Brigham "They are my brothers and to see that combined with my family, it was so special," he said. "It just made me realize I am at peace with myself. I am at peace with my journey. I am where I want to be I am where I need to be and that will never change." Team makes trip to Boston Eric Archambault is the head coach of the North Reading High School baseball team. Coach Arch, as he's called, said it wasn't a question of whether the team would make the trip to Boston on Thursday. He said Brady never missed school and rarely missed practice or games as a team manager during his treatments. "We are seeing a kid with our very eyes attack a situation that nobody wishes for, and he takes it head on every single day," said Archambault. "Everyone wasn't supporting Brady just because of the diagnosis. We are supporting Brady because of who he is. He has touched everyone on the team throughout the years, and we look up to him." Brady said he plans to work with a physical therapist and get back out on the field. Overwhelmed and thankful for the army of support he had from his team and community. "Life is the most precious and beautiful thing, and it can be taken away so fast and I want them to realize that, embrace hardships because hardships build your character and they build who you are, and they make you stronger than ever," Brady said. "I know for damn sure I am stronger than ever from this. I am proud to say I came out on top with a whole new perspective on live and a new appreciation for it."
CBS News
3 days ago
- Health
- CBS News
Standout Elk Grove softball player battles brain injury after car crash a week before graduation
ELK GROVE — A standout Franklin High School softball player has a long road to recovery after she got in a devastating car crash the week before graduation. Micayla Arlotto was a three-year varsity letter and starter at Franklin High School in Elk Grove with a full-ride scholarship to play Division 1 softball at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo; although it is the centerfielder's character that stands out most to people who know her. "When the team is down, you can count on Micayla to rally the team," said Reverand Dr. Tammie Denyse, Micayla's aunt. The softball team Micayla led is now rallying behind her as she battles a bad brain injury, cracked pelvis and other complications after family said she was hit by a reckless driver. Her teammates knew her as Cayla and showed up in crowds to the hospital to support her. She was on her way to school when the car crash happened. Now, instead of spending graduation with her classmates, Cayla will be recovering in the hospital. "The doctors told us it could be weeks or up to a month before she might wake up, before she'd start responding to commands or start talking," said Denyse. Cayla's loved ones say that she is already healing ahead of the doctor's schedule, but she is missing out on all her senior year activities. "It's a week we've talked about for a very long time, so to have her not experience that and be by my side is obviously really devastating," said Cayla's teammate Lindsay Hardey. However, I am just glad she is alive and she's on the road to recovery." Hardey said her favorite memories with Cayla were those moments spent off the field, getting Taco Bell together after practice. "Even before games we'd go, which probably wasn't the best thing to be eating before a softball game," said Hardey. Cayla's head softball coach at Franklin High School, Jon Gudel, said if they ever retire jersey numbers, Cayla's would be the first. "I got to coach her for three years, and I never heard her say anything negative," said Gudel. "Not about another team, not about a teammate, just always a positive kid." Cayla had been selected to play in the upcoming prestigious Optimist All-Star game and had hit a home run during her final at-bat of her high school career. "She is a very special person," said Gudel. "The heart and soul of not just our varsity team, but our entire program." This is not Cayla's first big roadblock, as loved ones say that she also lost her dad to cancer during her sophomore year. "She's tough," said Gudel. "She's a strong kid. There's no reason to doubt that she'll be back playing the game that she loves." Cayla was also a scholar. She is finishing high school with 45 college credits from the AP courses she took. Her plan at Cal Poly SLO was to study animal science with the goal of becoming a veterinarian, but now her recovery is the priority. It is not the journey anyone was prepared for, but Cayla's faith in God and loved ones are carrying her through to someday live out the dreams she worked so hard for. "I said, 'Where's your pain?' And she said it's in her heart because of her sadness," said Denyse. "I believe that prayer and trusting God is what's sustaining Micayla today." Her family has set up an online fundraiser as she continues to battle her injuries in the hospital, dreaming of the day she can hit the softball field again. "She'll get there in God's time and she is going to trust that God knows best for her life," said Denyse. "Between all the people in her life, we are going to make sure she is successful."
News.com.au
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- News.com.au
Mid-season draftees react to making their dreams come true
It's the moment footy players dream of, and the recent crop of mid-season draftees got to experience it with family, friends and teammates.
National Post
4 days ago
- Politics
- National Post
Lawyers continue cross-examination of NHL player at sexual assault trial
Article content The cross-examination of NHL player Brett Howden concluded on Tuesday at the trial of five of his teammates from Canada's 2018 world junior hockey team, all charged with sexual assault over an alleged incident inside a London hotel room. Follow below for live updates from the London courthouse
Fox News
5 days ago
- General
- Fox News
Freedom isn't free: Honor those who never came home on this Memorial Day
Memorial Day should make you a little uncomfortable. Because sacrifice should never be comfortable. But from that discomfort can come gratitude. And from gratitude, a commitment to live better—not in guilt, but in honor. And yet sadly, for most Americans, it merely marks the start of summer. It's beach chairs and burgers, sales and three-day weekends—a reprieve from work with little thought given to the sacrifice this day was meant to honor. But for those of us who've stood on foreign soil, witness to teammates who never came home, Memorial Day is a haunting—but beautiful— reckoning we face each year. There's a harsh truth about war that never leaves you: the fallen gave everything in an instant—and the living carry it for a lifetime. We, like other generations before us, have lost teammates, more than we care to count, some to bullets and bombs, others to the invisible wounds they carried back with them. Brave souls who gave everything—not for politics or glory—but for love of country and you. For an ideal, the American ideal of what we stand for and the potential of what we can become. And therein lies the covenant between the living and the fallen: they laid down their lives for a belief, an ideal—an unbreakable faith in us and our potential to become something greater. This is hard to explain to those who haven't served, and we don't blame anyone for that. Less than 1% of Americans serve in the armed forces today. Only about 5% of Americans have ever worn the uniform. Most live free of any direct connection to war. That's not a condemnation—it's a consequence of the freedoms we enjoy, protected by those willing to fight and die for them. But that disconnection has made Memorial Day more misunderstood and underappreciated with each passing year. One way to bridge that divide is to listen—to learn the stories of those who gave everything. This Memorial Day, FOX Nation is releasing a powerful new series, "The Unsung of Arlington," honoring five extraordinary Americans laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery. From John Glenn to Jane Delano, their lives remind us what courage, sacrifice, and unwavering belief in this nation truly look like. The series doesn't just tell their stories—it keeps their legacies alive. If you've ever wondered how to honor the fallen, start by learning who they were. Memorial Day is not about glorifying war. It's about honoring those who gave up everything so the rest of us could live in peace, prosperity, and yes—comfort. It's about men and women like Darrik Benson (USN), John Brown (USAF), Shannon Kent (USN), Joshua Wheeler (USA), Edward Smith (USMC), and countless others whose names never made headlines but whose legacies live on in the quiet grief of Gold Star families and the unwavering loyalty of those who fought beside them. Memorial Day is not a celebration—it's a remembrance of both their sacrifice and the covenant left upon us. A day when the living should ask themselves one question: Am I living a life worthy of their sacrifice? No one is asking you to feel guilty. They fought so you wouldn't have to. But what they ask—what they hope—is that for one day out of the year, Americans pause to reflect on the cost of the freedoms they so casually enjoy. Reflect on the blessings of safety, security, and opportunity. Reflect on the cost paid by strangers so that your kids can play in the yard without fear. And maybe—do something more. Teach your kids about the meaning of the day. Toast to the fallen. Or simply take a moment of silence—real silence. That silence—that discomfort—is where gratitude begins. And from gratitude comes action. This Memorial Day, enjoy your freedom. But don't forget where it came from. It's not a holiday. It's a headstone. For those of us who came home, for those who never did, and for those who never had to go—it's a covenant. One that we, as Americans, cannot and must not ever break. Never Forget. Forever Honor. God Bless America. Mike Sarraille is host of the brand-new Fox Nation series "The Unsung of Arlington" available right now on Kirk Offel is a former Navy Submariner and Founder/CEO of Overwatch Mission Critical.
