A Baseball For Ben



"Patrick! Time for School."

Patrick buried his head in his pillow and thought about the day ahead. "Hmmm, today we finish making our Thanksgiving pilgrims and ..." Patrick sat up suddenly. "Ben comes back to school today!"

Patrick wondered what his friend would look like. Ben had been burned at his uncle's cabin. Patrick's mother said that Ben lost two fingers. Patrick's father said that Ben's hair might not grow back.

Patrick pulled his t-shirt over his hair and looked in the mirrow. He still looked like himself. And so would Ben.

Then Patrick saw his new baseball autographed by Kirby Puckett. "I'll show Ben my baseball," Patrick said. He could hardly wait!

At school, Patrick's class was interrupted by a knock on the door. "Let's move to the reading area," Mrs. Peller said. "Ben might feel more comfortable with everyone sitting around him. Patrick, Joey - please sit next to Ben."

"Welcome back," Mrs. Peller said as she opened the door. "Everyone is waiting to talk to you - come sit down."

Ben and his mother came in, followed by a woman carrying a big bag.

As Ben walked toward the group, Patrick stared in disbelief. This boy couldn't be Ben! He was wearing Ben's jacket, but he was too thin. He walked differently and he was wearing a transparent mask on his face. Patrick wanted to scream or yell, but nothing came out.

"Hi everybody," Ben murmured, his eyes fixed on the floor.

All at once everyone started talking to Ben. "Does it hurt?" asked Joey. "How do you brush your teeth?" asked Ellen. "Why are you wearing a glove?"

Patrick wanted to talk too, but the words wouldn't come out.

Then Mrs. Peller started talking, and then Ben's mother, and then Jamie, who Mrs. Peller said helped Ben while he stayed in the burn center. They explained that Ben didn't remember much about the hospital. Jamie said that the doctors removed two of Ben's fingers. Ben showed his gloved hand to the group.

"See where they used my belly for my nose?" Ben pulled up his t-shirt and a second shirt. Everyone looked confused. Ben turned to Jamie for help.

"What Ben means is that the doctors moved skin from his stomach to his face," explained Jamie. "Ben's face was burned so badly that it couldn't heal. The doctors needed a skin donor, so they used healthly, unburned skin from Ben's stomach and grafted it to his face."

"Sometimes red and puffy scars form as skin heals," Jamie continued. "Ben wears his mask to help keep the new skin soft and flat. Ben also wears a special glove and shirt, which are called compression garments. These garments are tight and stretchy, to help stop some of the itching. They are worn all the time until the skin heals."

She looked at Ben. "Maybe you could take off your mask and let everyone touch it. I have more masks in this bag if anyone wants to try one."

While the masks were passed around, Ben showed the class some of the special exercises he had learned. He began to laugh when his classmates made funny faces as they practiced cheek stretching exercises.

And now, without the mask, Patrick could see Ben's familiar grin. But he still couldn't talk to him. In fact, he wanted to get as far away from Ben as he could.

Suddenly the recess bell rang. Patrick raced out the door. Over and over again he asked himself, "What am I afraid of?"

Joey asked Patrick to join the softball game, but he wasn't in the mood. He just sat on a swing and kicked the dirt.

"There's that kid who was burned," Patrick heard someone from another class shout.

"Look at him - he's a french fry." Patrick turned around and saw Ben leaving with his mother and Jamie. He was crying.

Patrick looked away quickly. He wanted to punch that kid, but his feet seemed glued to the ground. He felt confused and now he was mad, too.

The afternoon dragged. Patrick kept thinking about Ben and what had happened on the playground. Finally it was time to go home.

In the car, Patrick's mother asked about Ben. When Patrick didn't answer, she suggested they drive over to visit Ben together.

Ben was standing in his yard.

"What do you want?" Ben yelled. "Did you need a closer look?"

Patrick gulped. Before he could answer, Ben shouted, "Some kids made fun of me at school today."

"I heard," Patrick mumbled softly.

Ben sighed. "Well...want to see my presents from the hospital?"

Before long, the boys were laughing like old times. Later, Ben talked about the fire and going back to school. He let Patrick touch his face and hands, and feel his new skin. He showed Patrick how he had learned to hold a pencil with just three fingers. Soon it was time for Patrick to leave.

As he opened the door, Patrick remembered the baseball in his backpack. "Here, we can use this to get your pitching arm back in shape," he said as he tossed the ball to Ben.

This time, Patrick could see Ben's familiar grin right through the face mask. "Wow! A baseball autographed by Kirby Puckett! Thanks!"

Patrick smiled and waved goodbye. He wasn't scared anymore. Ben might look different, but he hadn't changed inside. They would still be buddies after all.