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Athletes visit St. Mary’s to show gratitude to hospital
Players share
jokes , stories
By DAVID MITCHELL
The Red & Black
Roberta Basham sat
with her son, Bob, in a
faintly lit room at St. Mary’s
Hospital.
The dark room and bare
walls looked fit for a som
ber occasion, a stark con
trast to the lively atmo
sphere they found them
selves in.
Instead of quiet reflec
tion, Basham, 94, was talk
ing and laughing spiritedly
with five visitors from the
Georgia football team.
Already a small room,
the football players Kris
Durham, Justin Anderson,
Shaun Chapas. Quintin
Banks and Brian Brewer
left no tile on the floor
untouched.
“When you get my age,
you really just appreciate
all this extra attention,”
Basham told her visitors
with a smile as big as the
men she was directing it
towards.
On Friday, the athletes
attended an annual event
at St. Mary’s to show
appreciation for the care
the hospital provides for
their program. St. Mary’s
has been the official health
care provide for Georgia
athletics since 1999.
In addition to the visita
tions, athletes and other
representatives from the
athletic department invit
ed St. Mary's staff to a pic
nic in the hospital parking
lot. Members of the
Bulldogs’ volleyball team
were also in attendance.
Brian Evans, manager of
the St. Mary’s wellness
center and liaison to the
University of Georgia, said
he thinks the event is
important to maintain a
relationship between the
hospital and the athletes.
“A lot of times the staff
sees the student athletes
in a procedural situation
and it really makes them
feel good to see them after
the fact,” Evans said. “They
like seeing them recovered
RECRUITING NOTEBOOK
Dogs get
first 2012
commit
By MITCH BLOMERT
The Red & Black
Saturday was a day of
wins for the football team
on the field and in
recruiting.
Georgia picked up its
first Class of 2012 recruit
Saturday when wide
receiver prospect C. J.
Curry announced his com
mitment to the Bulldogs
shortly after the team’s
41-14 win over Tennessee.
Curry, a junior at North
Hall High School in
Gainesville, didn’t need to
wait for a second offer to
make up his mind. Georgia
is the only team to offer
him a schol-
thus
far in his
recruit
ment.
The
6-foot-2,
184-pound
Curry was
being
fMiDDV recruited by
CUKItT Georgia,
Alabama.
Auburn, Florida State and
Oklahoma State before the
Bulldogs acted first with
an offer.
Through six games with
North Hall this season,
Curry has 275 yards and
one touchdown on 14
catches.
Basketball prospect to
decide Thursday
In-state basketball
prospect Julian Royal will
announce his commitment
decision between Georgia
and Georgia Tech on
Thursday, according to
Scout.com.
The 8-foot-8 power for
ward out of Milton High
School in Milton would be
the third commitment in
the Bulldogs’ 2011 basket
ball recruiting class.
Royal is a four-star
prospect ranked 13th in
the nation among power
forwards.
Asa junior, he helped
Milton win a Class AAAAA
state championship earlier
this year.
and doing well. It’s a win
win for everybody.”
Many of the athletes
who visited the hospital
hfod, in fact, spent time as
patients at the hospital in
the past.
Durham, a wide receiver
on the football team, was
in the hospital for surgery
on a tom labrum in his left
shoulder a year ago.
“I know what it’s like to
be in here,” Durham said.
“Just being able to give
back means a lot. It’s a
great way to help out and
show how we’ve been
blessed and kind of give a
little happiness back.”
Banks who had his
playing career with the
team cut short as a result
of knee injuries —and
Anderson were chauffeured
from room to room in wheel
chairs as a result of their
injuries. Banks shared sim
ilar sentiments to Durham.
“It’s the first time I’ve
really been able to see the
hospital without being on
morphine,” Banks said,
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laughing. “It’s just a lot of
fun to be able to see the
patients and staff and put
smiles on everybody’s
faces.”
For these members of a
football team experiencing
a less-than-successful sea
son on the field, the visita
tion was a reminder of what
takes precedence in life.
“Football is a sport,”
Durham said. “It’s a game.
There are more important
things in life and I think an
activity like this really
shows how lucky we still
are to be in the position
we’re in.”
Mark Ralston, the pub
lic relations manager for
the St. Mary’s healthcare
system, emphasized
Durham’s comments by
stressing what a major
effect the visitations actu
ally have on the patients.
“They really enjoy hav
ing the athletes come in
and share stories and
laughter with them —as
you can tell,” he said as a
chorus of laughter erupted
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▲ Georgia student-athletes, many of whom have had injuries treated by
the St. Mary’s staff, took the time to give back to the hospital on Friday.
from the room the players
were currently visiting. “It’s
great. It can be really
touching.”
Ralston also said the
experience can be benefi
cial to the athletes.
The Red a Black | Tuesday, October 12, 2010
“It’s a lot of help for
everybody including the
athletes,” Ralston said. “We
want to wish them well and
let them know that we
hope they don’t need us,
but we’re here if they do.”
And as for Roberta
Basham, it is an experi
ence, she said, she will hold
onto for awhile.
“This really just made
my day,” Basham said. “It
lifted me up so much.”
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