Rich Hill hopes no family ever needs to go through what his did.
But in the event that someone does, the Major League Baseball pitcher and Milton, Mass., native wants to help make sure they get the same support the Hills did after they lost their son Brooks to a rare disease shortly after he was born in 2014.
“We met Dr. David Sweetser shortly after Brooks was born, and we knew almost immediately that he was going to be someone who would be in our lives forever,” Hill, who pitched for the Boston Red Sox from 2010 to 2012, and again in 2015, wrote in The Players’ Tribune. “Dr. Sweetser is a specialist in genetics and undiagnosed diseases. Within minutes of meeting us, he set about doing everything he could to try and figure out what was going on with Brooks.
“He was real with us and kept us focused on what we needed to focus on, but at every turn he made us feel valued, and listened to, and important to the process.”
Rich and his wife, Caitlin, have started a campaign to raise $1 million for Mass. General Hospital to support the research of the doctor who treated Brooks. During this weekend’s series at Fenway Park, the Boston Red Sox will join the Hills in raising awareness for the campaign.
Hill and the Red Sox invite anyone interested in joining them to spread awareness and fund scientific research into rare diseases to help other families find the answers they need.
