Craig Michael Bukosky was diagnosed with leukemia at the age of two. For nine years, he fought a tremendous battle with this dreaded disease. He went into remission several times and we had all hoped he would win the war, but at the tender age of eleven, we lost him. He was very active in sports playing golf, soccer, basketball, baseball, and even riding a dirt bike. Unless one knew Craig personal
ly, one would never have known the little guy was sick. For the last baseball team he played on (Cardinals in the Temple Youth Baseball Association) he played first base. Most first basemen are reasonably tall and lanky...not Craig. He was every bit of 4 fee 6 inches tall, but that was tall enough because his heart and his character were that of a seven footer. I remember one play in particular last June in the mid-season tournament. He stretched out to catch the ball and gingerly went to the ground. As he went down, he made the catch, but in the process, his foot came off the bag. He made a valiant effort to reach the bag while still lying on the ground. Just before the runner crossed the bag Craig was able to reach first base and make the play. It was a heartwarming experience for all of us attending the game. Most of us knew Craig was ill, but we were excited for him because of his determination -and because we all -admired him - not because we felt sorry for him. You see, Craig Bukosky would not give people the opportunity to feel sorry for him because he did not think about dying. He thought about living and doing all of the things he had always loved to do. Another interesting thing about Craig was that during the weekend of that same mid-season tournament, Craig had told his doctors he would not show up for his chemotherapy treatments unless they could schedule them around the baseball games.
