Anger, hurt and fear are some of the emotions Ben Petrick felt when it was confirmed that, at 23, he had early-onset Parkinson’s disease. He went from being a gifted catcher with an incredible future on the Colorado Rockies to not knowing what tomorrow would bring.
“My entire identity was in baseball,” he says. “I spent most of my adult life with 25 guys in a clubhouse or on the field. I had only wished for two things in life: to play pro baseball and to be a father. Now, one of those had been stripped from me and I had no clue how I would do the other with my physical limitations. I was very down.
“The disease progressed over five years to the point that there were many times I was not able to help care for our daughter.”
In an effort to improve his quality of life, Petrick underwent risky surgery. Initially, the surgery seemed to be successful, but a short time later he developed an infection that landed him back in the hospital unable to move. It was at this point he told his father he thought that his family might be better off if they didn’t have to worry about him.
“My dad looked at me and said, ‘Don’t you ever say that. You have a daughter at home who is counting on you. Quit thinking about yourself, and think about your daughter.’ Not a surprising response from the man who had pushed me my entire life to be a better person.”