{"id":7931,"date":"2019-10-04T16:01:30","date_gmt":"2019-10-04T20:01:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/?p=7931"},"modified":"2024-08-16T12:23:43","modified_gmt":"2024-08-16T16:23:43","slug":"a-fair-field-and-no-favor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/a-fair-field-and-no-favor\/","title":{"rendered":"A Fair Field And No Favor"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

There have been constant reminders since the accident of what\nMary and Christian Kane \u201994 are up against\u2014of the relentless series of\nchallenges that come with parenting a child with a severe disability\u2014but some\nare more memorable than others. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Perhaps the most impactful reminder came on a spring day two and a half years ago when Mary brought her then-6-year-old son Gavin to an \u201call-inclusive\u201d playground not far from their home. Trying to lift Gavin into the accessible swing seat, she became aware that other children and parents were watching her struggle. \u201cAnd she looks up,\u201d Christian says now, painting the scene, \u201cand everyone puts their heads down.\u201d It wasn\u2019t only the playground equipment that was insufficient; it was an environment that ensured they were outcasts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was around that time the Kanes decided that they, and Gavin,\nand every other family facing similar obstacles deserved better than an\nall-inclusive play ground with little more than, as Christian puts it, \u201csome\nrubber flooring and a big red chair swing in a corner.\u201d They talked, and they\nrealized that what they needed was a facility that would let children and <\/em>families\nthrive\u2014a place, Christian says, \u201cwhere caretakers can network, and feel\ntypical, and see their loved ones do things they never thought they could do.\u201d\nAnd somehow, despite having no experience or training in such things, they\ndecided they\u2019d do it themselves. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Themselves, yes, but hardly alone. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That decision, to create an oasis for children like Gavin and\nfamilies like theirs, evolved into a mission that is now becoming a reality.\nThis fall, the first phase of the RWJBarnabas Health Field of Dreams at the\nOcean Orthopedic Associates Complex is set to open in Toms River, New Jersey,\nthe culmination of countless hours of dreaming and planning by the Kanes, and\ntheir almost compulsive insistence on getting help from everywhere and everyone\nthey could. And this is how Christian has spent every spare moment since, asking\nand pleading and cajoling to get the land, time, and money needed to make the\ndream come true. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s for Gavin. Doing less was never an option. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The beer delivery truck was fully loaded when it smashed into\nthe back of Christian\u2019s car on that July day in 2012. Gavin, 19 months old, was\nin the back seat; when Christian got to his son, he was bleeding heavily and\nnot making a sound. An ambulance arrived quickly, taking Gavin to Community\nMedical Center, where Christian called Mary, who was then four months pregnant\nwith their sixth child. Gavin\u2019s skull was completely fractured; he\u2019d suffered\ntraumatic brain injury. Doctors told Christian they needed to fly Gavin north\nto Jersey Shore University Medical Center for emergency surgery to reduce the\nswelling on his brain and, they hoped, save his life. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

They did, and Gavin began a slow recovery, but it wasn\u2019t clear\nwhat kind of life he would ever be able to have. He spent the next two months\nin the hospital, during which time his prognosis became clear: His mind was\nhealthy, but the accident had severed the neural connections that enabled him\nto control his body. He faced massive limitations. Doctors told Christian and\nMary to look into a facility where Gavin could live. Mary said no. They would\nbring their son home. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While Christian continued working at Toms River High School\nNorth, where he\u2019s been a math teacher for the last 13 years, Mary quit her job\nto become Gavin\u2019s full-time caregiver. They built an accessible playground next\nto their home, and Gavin loved it; he recognized his parents, he began to sit\nup, he smiled. There were trips to an all-inclusive community playground, and\nas he got older, the Kanes became aware of the ticking clock: Mary, now with a\nbaby daughter in tow, wouldn\u2019t be able to lift Gavin into that swing forever.\nAnd then it happened\u2014that frustrating, unforgettable moment in the spring of\n2017, and the Kanes\u2019 mission came into focus. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

At first, it was going to be an all-inclusive baseball field\u2014hence\nthe name\u2014but the idea quickly evolved and expanded into an entire complex with\na ball field; an accessible playground; a walking path with rehabilitative\nstations; courts for basketball, bocce, and shuffleboard; a snack bar; and a\npavilion. There will be accessible sports leagues, concerts and other special\nevents, and volunteer opportunities for local students. And running through it\nall is a sense, intangible but invaluable, that this is a place where, as Christian\nputs it, \u201cCaregivers can go and sit on a bench and know that the person on the\nleft or right of them is in the same boat. Nobody\u2019s going to be staring at\nyou.\u201d To the best of the Kanes\u2019 knowledge, there is no other complex like it in\nthe country. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There was no doubting the beauty of the concept, no questioning the need. The only question was how to accomplish it. A lifetime of teaching and coaching had taught Christian how to pull the best out of people, but not how to pull money and resources from companies and municipal governments. He knew he had one thing going for him: a story. He would tell it to whomever would listen. <\/p>\n\n\n

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 <\/p><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Renderings courtesy of Christian Kane<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

He started with Toms River Township, banking on that story, and on his reputation as a well-known educator in town. Before anything else, he needed land, and he says the town was \u201copen to it right away\u2014when I told them it was going to cost zero dollars,\u201d he says with a laugh. \u201cThey were very receptive to that.\u201d The township promised 3.1 acres at Bey Lea Park. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In retrospect, that was the easy part. Raising a little more\nthan $2 million would require a bit more effort. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And so, even as he maintained his full-time teaching gig, Christian\ndove into the task, eventually finding three engineering and construction firms\nthat were willing to take on the job\u2014 in the end, donating nearly $1 million\nworth of time, labor, and equipment. The rest of the money has come in chunks\nboth small and large, drummed up through Christian\u2019s tireless speaking gigs in front\nof whoever will have him\u2014\u201cevery Rotary and Kiwanis, every 55-and-over\ncommunity,\u201d he says. There have been fundraising events and a GoFundMe page.\nHe\u2019s sold naming rights to nearly everything in the park. (At press time, the\nKanes were about $161,000 short of covering the total cost of the project.) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Local corporations have stepped up, too, with Jersey Mike\u2019s among the early adopters. A funny story, that one. \u201cI just Googled what the CEO looked like and where his once was,\u201d says Christian. \u201cThen one day I drive to Manasquan, and no lie, as I\u2019m about to walk into the building, he walks out. I say, \u2018You don\u2019t know me, but you will in five minutes.\u2019 Well, five turns into 20…\u201d A few days later, Christian had a commitment from the sandwich chain, one of the early commitments that lent credibility to his efforts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Mary, it\u2019s all been rather fascinating to watch. \u201cI think\nthis brought something out in him,\u201d she says of her husband. \u201cHe\u2019s always been\na focused individual, but I don\u2019t think there\u2019s ever been anything like this\nI\u2019ve seen him chasing, something that he\u2019s so passionate about.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

She doesn\u2019t need to wonder about his motivation. For that, there\nis a lively, smiling, funny 8-year-old who wants nothing more than to be a normal\nkid. Gavin won\u2019t be a kid forever, and so Christian has pushed, and his\npersistence has helped the Field of Dreams come together more quickly than\nanyone thought possible. \u201cOur foundation board members thought it would take\nfive to seven years,\u201d he says. \u201cI told them, \u2018I don\u2019t have time for that.\u2019\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And Gavin? He knows what\u2019s coming, knows his own wait is almost over. He\u2019s seen the site, seen the renderings, heard his parents talk about all that\u2019s gone into bringing this park to life. His excitement fuels everything Christian and Mary have done. \u201cHe knows he\u2019s going to meet all these new friends,\u201d says Christian, \u201cand that\u2019s when you see the smile.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When a tragic accident left his son severely disabled, Christian Kane set out to create a facility where children with special needs can experience the simple joys of childhood. His vision is finally becoming a reality. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":57,"featured_media":7934,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"image_focus":"","hide_title":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7931","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-features"],"thumbnail":"\"\"","catString":"Features","issue":"Fall 2019","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7931","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/57"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7931"}],"version-history":[{"count":17,"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7931\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20059,"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7931\/revisions\/20059"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7934"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7931"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7931"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7931"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}