Rehab puts stroke victim back in the swing of things

If anyone told John Ross in early January that he would throw out the first pitch at a Cactus League spring training game this month, he wouldn’t have believed them.

If anyone told Ross he would be able to walk and use his left hand and arm two months after suffering a stroke that left him partially paralyzed, he would have doubted that, too.

Ross, 57, suffered a stroke on Jan. 8 and was unable to use his left arm and leg for weeks. He lost his pulse while in the hospital’s emergency room, was confined to a wheelchair and had impaired speech.

That the Scottsdale man will be on the mound Sunday at Phoenix Municipal Stadium when the Oakland A’s host the San Francisco Giants seems quite improbable. The Southwest regional sales manager for Tyco Thermal Controls, who is right-handed, credits his amazing recovery to inpatient rehabilitation at Scottsdale Healthcare Osborn hospital.

“They started working on me right away,” Ross said. “They stood me up pretty quick to see what kind of grip I had, which I didn’t. I thought my ankles wouldn’t work again. Every day, there was someone new pulling at me or stretching my muscles. The whole left side of my body was paralyzed.

“One day, they told me they were getting me Velcro shoes and I said, ‘No you’re not!’ I learned to tie my shoes with one hand. They told me I’d wind up going out of the hospital in a wheelchair. I said, ‘I don’t think so.’ I’m a stubborn guy.”

Ross’ natural tenacity and his positive attitude toward rehabilitation is likely why he’s doing as well as he is.

“It’s hard to believe I’ll be throwing out the first pitch,” said Ross, who played baseball as a youth. “I was in a wheelchair, went to a walker and then to braces. Last week, I started getting around with no braces at all. I credit the rehab staff at Scottsdale Osborn. If not for them working hard with me, I wouldn’t be able to do this.”

Ross, a New York Yankees fan who has begun sporting a green and gold A’s cap lately, is most pleased that his 27-yearold daughter, Danyelle, will be by his side Sunday to take pictures and cheer him on. She lost movement of her right arm and leg more than a year ago because of multiple sclerosis and is walking and back to work after rehab at Scottsdale Healthcare Shea hospital.

“The hospital asked if I wanted to do this and I want to for my daughter and everybody else in rehab,” said Ross, who said he needs a minor procedure to fix a small hole in his heart. “When I first started rehab, it was quiet in the room. I made it my job to say hello to everyone there every day and liven it up. The atmosphere is a lot better. It’s like we’re all a family. I want to share my moment with my daughter and all of them.”

Madlyn Costantino, rehab unit coordinator at Scottsdale, said a flier is posted in the hospital announcing Ross’ first pitch. She added that a number of staff members who helped Ross during his recovery bought seats to watch the Ross toss.

“The people in the rehab unit make it enjoyable,” Ross said of his recovery. “I call them my guardian angels. I want to hold up the ball Sunday to say to them, ‘Look what you have done.’”

CUBBIES, WOO! CUBBIES WOO!

Author George Castle, who has written many highly acclaimed baseball books, and Hall of Famer and former Chicago Cubs pitcher Fergie Jenkins of Anthem will sign Castle’s latest work, “Entangled in Ivy: Inside the Cubs’ Quest for October,” at Borders bookstores, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Thursday at 1361 S. Alma School Road in Mesa, and 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Friday at 7135 E. Camelback Road in Scottsdale.

Castle and Jenkins will also sign the book at Cubs spring training games through Sunday at HoHoKam Park in Mesa. The book is $15 at the ballpark. The book takes a look at the Cubs organization and how the team has continued its championship drought — not winning a World Series since 1908 or appearing in one since 1945 — based on Castle’s coverage of the team the past 15 years.