University of Massachusets Athletics
BASEBALL FEATURE: Teaming Up To Battle Cancer
July 27, 2009 | Baseball
July 27, 2009
By Kevin Gray, Staff Sports Writer, The Union Leader (N.H.)
The first time Nick Gorneault spoke with Terry Francona, they didn't simply say hello or hang around the batting cage chatting about baseball.
The New Hampshire Fisher Cats ballplayer and Boston Red Sox manager first conversed by phone, talking about Gorneault's wife, Jami, and the battle she was about to wage with cancer.
This is a story about an outfielder with the Double-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays, a tumultuous summer for him and his wife, and the tightly knit bonds that can exist within professional baseball -- even among rival organizations.
Jami Gorneault, a 28-year-old with a slight build and piercing blue eyes, discovered a lump under her left arm in May. The diagnosis: Stage 3 melanoma skin cancer, the lump caused by tumors that had spread to lymph nodes.
"Instantly, I felt shocked and scared," said Jami, who'd had a malignant mole on her back removed four years earlier. "I had really convinced myself that it couldn't possibly be melanoma, which was the worst diagnosis we could have hoped for."
Baseball brethren
The Gorneaults had just purchased a new home, in Springfield, Mass., where Nick grew up. Now they had a cancer diagnosis. What next? Where to turn for treatment?
On May 26, the Fisher Cats hosted the Portland Sea Dogs, Double-A affiliates of the Boston Red Sox, triggering a chain of events that put the Gorneaults in contact with the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
Fisher Cats manager Gary Cathcart, who had lost his mother to breast cancer in 2004, mentioned the Gorneault's plight to Sea Dogs manager Arnie Beyeler. Beyeler, in turn, called Francona, no stranger to a disease all too familiar within the Red Sox clubhouse.
The wives of Boston second baseman Dustin Pedroia and former Sox pitcher Curt Schilling are melanoma survivors, as is ex-Sox hurler Derek Lowe. Current Red Sox pitcher Jon Lester won his own bout with another form of cancer, non-Hodgkins lymphoma.
Francona knew exactly where to turn.
The Red Sox manager spoke with Gorneault and referred him to former Red Sox second baseman Mike Andrews, chairman of the Jimmy Fund, the Dana-Farber Institute's fund-raising arm. Andrews next facilitated connections between hospital, doctor and patient, ensuring Jami would be treated by some of the foremost cancer experts in the world.
Asked last week about helping the wife of a minor-leaguer from a different organization, Francona downplayed his role.
"Dana-Farber -- they don't care what uniform you're in. There's no 'versus' with them," he said. "They just want to help."
Nick Gorneault, who grew up rooting for the Red Sox, has stayed in touch with Francona, providing updates on Jami.
"Terry was right on it, wanting to help us," Nick said. "He's asked that we keep in contact with him. I've always had a lot of respect for Terry and the way he's handled that team, but this is something extra special that will always mean a lot to Jami and I."
Turns for the better
On June 21, Jami had successful surgery at Brigham and Women's Hospital, part of the Dana-Farber network. A surgeon removed 11 lymph nodes and muscle tissue from her pectoral minor. Lab work revealed only one lymphnode had been infected with melanoma, and the cancer had not spread to any tissue or nerves.
The former Colorado high school cheerleader and volleyball player begins immunotherapy in September. Jami says she's feeling "almost back to normal" and recently started working out Executive Health & Sports Center in Manchester.
Jami's strong recovery appears to have inspired Nick's performance on the field. After batting .184 in June, he began ripping the ball in July (a .297 average for the month through Friday), with a walk-off single in a victory over Connecticut and a pinch-hit homer against Portland among the highlights.
The happy couple, husband and wife since January 2008, shared a particularly beautiful moment last Monday as Nick stepped to the plate in the ninth inning against Trenton. A tense Jami clutched the hand of a friend, shielding her eyes -- "I was so nervous for him in that high-pressure situation," she said -- until she heard the crack of the bat.
Nick's liner to left field lifted New Hampshire over the Yankees affiliate, 5-4, and created delirium among the Fisher Cats wives assembled in the stands above the banks of the Merrimack River. On the field, New Hampshire players mobbed the 30-year-old team leader.
"It was awesome," Jami said. "I know it's been really hard on Nick. He's taking care of me and worrying about me when he's on the road. It's great just to see him be the player I know he can be."
A ninth-year pro who played two games with the Angels in 2007, Nick Gorneault brought a .236 average into this weekend's series at Portland, along with a renewed fiery approach to the game. Last week he was ejected for the first time in his career -- and it was a good thing.
"I went through a period when I wasn't really feeling like myself," the 6-foot 3-inch, 220-pound outfielder said. "I'd lost that edge. Mentally, emotionally, you can't prepare for something like (cancer).
"Now I'm back to feeling like myself, being in the place I need to be as a player."
Perseverance
Nick Gorneault possesses the strongest arm in the New Hampshire outfield, and he's made several diving catches to the delight of fans.
Two days before Jami's surgery, he made a diving, dirt-eating grab along the right-field line to protect a lead against Erie.
Twice he's left the team to accompany Jami during treatment -- including for three days after her surgery -- but he's played 82 games in the outfield for the Fishers, more than any other player.
Cathcart marvels at his mental toughness.
"Having the pressure to perform every day in this business is enough for any young guy," Cathcart said, "but when you add a serious family issue ... I can only imagine what it's like to try and block that out and play this game."
The Gorneaults say they've persevered through family, friends and a strong faith.
"It's the toughest thing I've ever have to deal with," said Nick. "Jami's amazing. She's so strong.
"It's something that's made us grow closer to each other, and to God."
Brian MacPherson, Boston sports correspondent for the New Hampshire Union Leader and Sunday News, contributed to this story.
