Change Your Brain Every Day - Miracle Stories: How David Ortiz’s Home Run Changed a Life with Kelli Davis

Episode Date: June 26, 2019

In this episode of The Brain Warrior’s Way Podcast, Dr. Daniel Amen and Tana Amen are once again joined by Kelli Davis from The Children’s Miracle Network for a discussion on miracles. Kelli shares an unbelievable story of how a young boy with a congenital heart defect inspired a famous baseball player to create his own miracle, which had reverberations that changed lives and gave hope to many who didn’t have it before.

Welcome to the Brain Warriors Way podcast. I'm Dr. Daniel Amen. And I'm Tana Amen. In our podcast, we provide you with the tools you need to become a warrior for the health of your brain and body. The Brain Warriors Way podcast is brought to you by Amen Clinics, where we have been transforming lives for 30 years using tools like brain spec imaging to personalize treatment to your brain. For more information, visit amenclinics.com. The Brain Warriors Way podcast is also brought to you by BrainMD, where we produce the highest quality nutraceuticals to support the health of your brain and body. To learn more, go to brainmd.com. Welcome back. We are on episode three. We are back with Kelly from Children's Miracle Network, and we are just having such a good time. And Kelly, you mentioned

that you wanted to talk about Maverick and teaching people how to have miracles. So talk about that. Yes. I love inspiring people to believe in miracles, but more importantly, go create miracles for those around them because that's truly what it's all about. And I had the most amazing opportunity in 2014 to meet a child from Wyoming. He's from Wyoming. I'm from Wyoming. He was born June 11th. I was born June 11th. He loves the Boston Red Sox. I love the Boston Red Sox. Well, Maverick has had over 40 surgeries, including five open heart surgeries. And one day when Maverick wasn't feeling very well, I reached out to my friend who played first baseman for the Boston Red Sox when they won the World Series in 2004 and asked him if he could get a video

from Maverick from his hero, David Ortiz, otherwise known as Big Poppy, one of the best home run hitters in the game. And two hours later, I had a video from David that said, Maverick, stay strong, keep the faith, be positive, and I'm going to hit a home run for you tonight. Well, fast forward a couple hours. It's a beautiful night at Fenway Park, and the Boston Red Sox are playing their rival, the New York Yankees. Big Papi steps up to bat the first time he strikes out. He steps up to bat

the second time he strikes out. He steps up to bat the third time he strikes out. He steps up to bat the fourth time. It's the bottom of the eighth inning. The game is tied 2-2. He's up against one of the best relieving pitchers in baseball, someone he's never had a hit off of his entire career. And he hits a game winning home run for Maverick. Now at that point, I'm in my bedroom and I'm on my knees because I was praying for a miracle, but I knew what that would mean for Maverick. And the next thing I know, I have a video for Maverick says, big puppy, you never let me down. And I'm going to try my hardest to get to Fenway Park to meet you. And within two weeks, I was on a private plane from Cheyenne, Wyoming with my little man for him to meet his hero and for him to throw out the first pitch. And the moment that

they met will forever be etched in my mind. Big Poppy walks in the room and little Maverick, six years old, just looks up at him he's like big poppy and then they embraced and i cried and he had the home run ball that he'd hit for him in his hand because the fan decided to give it back oh are miracles real should big poppy have hit that home run for maverick odds were were against him. Homerians and Major League Baseball aren't that easy to hit, but he did it and he acknowledged help from a higher power. I was so blessed to be a little tiny part of that miracle, but I was just a little tiny part.

There were nurses, there were doctors, hospital staff, everybody that had come together to get Maverick to a place where he was even healthy enough to go to Boston to meet his hero. The day that I actually reached out to Kevin, I had only done that because I saw him with Big Poppy on Instagram, because I've been trying to get this video for months, but I happened to get it that day. And he happened to hit the home run that night. I'm just like, and that's what my book is about. It's the miracle of Maverickick, 100% of proceeds benefits Children's Miracle Network Hospitals. But I really just want to inspire people to know that a miracle is possible in your life, but also know that other people around you need miracles too.

And you can be a part of that. One little tiny action can create the biggest miracle ever for someone who needs it most. It's such a powerful story about Maverick. It is. Made me cry. So I went to medical school at Oral Roberts University, which is a Christian school in Oklahoma. And he was a faith healer.

And whatever you think about primetime religion, and even when I was there, I was a bit ambivalent about it. Right, because, you know, I mean, televangelists and all of that. The part of seeing miracles is really powerful. But what happens and how do people stay the course when they pray for a miracle and it doesn't happen? Right. I love that question. Because I worked in a hospital. I also worked in a Christian... I went to a Christian college and worked in a Christian hospital. And we saw miracles every day, for sure. But one thing I had to learn, because it was a hard place to work. I worked in a level A trauma center. I floated a lot to the children's side.

And the children were the hardest for me, by far the hardest for me. They were also the most special, right, when you see those miracles happen. But I had to learn how to see miracles even when it was bleak, right? You have to learn how to see that sometimes when it doesn't go the way you think it should go. And that's not an easy thing to do sometimes. I, I think about this a lot because of the 10 million kids that we treat, they don't all make it. Right. Um, but I do believe that God has a perfect plan. For instance, I have a little friend named Jacob who passed away two years ago when he was 19 and he had spina bifida and he was in constant pain for 19 years. Yet Jacob put a smile on his face every day. He couldn't talk much,

but his eyes lit up a room. And I think the miracle was that he was here for as long as he was. And he lived out his life's purpose while he was here. I think we want to know why some people have a longer plan than others, but I know that it's all perfect. I know there's so much purple-ness in the pain. Yeah. And one of the, a book that I read, and I think you read as well in college was why do bad things happen to good people? It was a really good book. Um, but you know, I just, for me without faith, I would not be able to, to have seen what I saw and have be able to walk away without being bitter and angry. So for me, I had to have that faith piece.

I think, you know, other people don't, and that's up to them. I couldn't have done it without that, but because I needed to be able to see that purpose. There has to be a purpose for me. There's got to be a purpose for, for someone's pain and suffering. Otherwise, what are we doing? Um, you know, we have to be able to use that for something else. And I, it's just, it's a hard thing. So when you see a mother on the floor screaming, you know, it's not an easy thing to watch. So, but to be able to see that and somehow use that for a bigger purpose, somehow believe that there's something else is an important thing. And the people that work at children's hospitals are so special. Really? I have an eight-year-old granddaughter

who has a genetic micro deletion syndrome and at the age of five months started having wicked seizures and the syndrome she has I mean she's still not really talking and intellectually she's probably around two but very special is she not perfect she's absolutely perfect and she has required so much help um from speech therapists and physical therapists and neurologists and um finding a way to support the hospitals that support the children in our lives is just so important. And that's a good point because I see Emmy's progress as a miracle. They said she would not live. And then they said if she ever did walk when she lived, that if she did walk, she would

not walk without a walker. And it wouldn't be until she was five, she was walking without a walker by the time she was two. She'd never talk. She's beginning to make words. These are all miracles for sure. So it's very special actually. Well, I have a 23-year-old nephew and he's nonverbal. He's not potty trained, has tuberous sclerosis, severely autistic, 24-7 care the last 23 years. And for so long, there were prayers that he would talk

or that he would be able to communicate. But at the end of the day, he's a miracle that he's here and that we get to be in his presence, just like Emmy, right? She is a miracle and perfect the way that she is. We might wish it could be something different, but she's perfect. Right. And I want to be there one day. And where we bring our attention will determine how we feel. So if we see it as a deficit, we will feel it's unfair. But if we see the miracles day in and day out um we'll feel miraculous but it's also important to know these families need a lot of help that they need a lot of care and the more we can support

these hospitals with you know organizations like yours the better we all are as the human race. And it makes us feel better to know we're doing something special. When we come back, we're going to wrap this up. But mostly, Kelly, I want you to think about a couple more of your favorite stories. Those are just heart-wrenching. Stories is where it's at for humans. Stay with us. If you're enjoying the Brain Warriors Way podcast, please don't forget to subscribe so you'll always know when there's a new episode. And while you're at it, feel free to give us a review

or five-star rating as that helps others find the podcast. If you're interested in coming to Amen Clinics, use the code podcast10 to get a 10% discount on a full evaluation at amenclinics.com. For more information, give us a call at 855-978-1363.