NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — Harbor Park is a magical place for Jim Redick. He and his daughter Kayla Grace had some of their best daddy daughter dates at the home of Norfolk Tides baseball.
“I have a picture of her. She’s not even really much taller than the rail. And, and she was able to stand up then,” Redick said.
Kayla loved the sights, the smells and the tastes. “Oh, my gosh. So, peanuts, Dippin’ Dots, I mean, all of it!” Redick said.
Baseball brought joy to a life filled with pain. “She wasn’t as communicative, you know, as most. But she could say ‘ball game’. She could say, ‘play ball’. She loved to say, ‘take me out to the ball game’, as best you could.”
Kayla had an injury at birth, cerebral palsy, autism and cognitive delays. Season after season her conditions progressed.
“Mentally, she was really young. So she still sat on my lap a lot of times and stuff like that. Even though, as a 16 year old, it may have looked weird. I didn’t care,” Redick said.
Last fall, as the Tides were winning Championships, 18-year-old Kayla entered palliative care.
They lost her last month.
When WAVY met up with Redick at the ballpark on Wednesday, it was the first time he had been back since they were there together last season.
“I was thinking about, you know, I was going on opening weekend and I just couldn’t. I just couldn’t. I just knew that I was going to see those empty seats and not really. I just wasn’t ready for that,” he said.
Then he had a thought.
What if these seats were full? What if they could help someone else feel this kind of joy?
“If we could bring that to others through her, then I think she would love that,” he said.
So, the family bought two season tickets to give to others with children of varying abilities.
“It’s just a free ticket,” he said. “Enjoy and just enjoy that time on behalf of Kayla.”
So that they know Kayla is being honored, the family simply asks that those interested in the tickets post a little something about their special loved one with a picture along with the requested game date on their ‘Take Me Out To The Tides Game’ Facebook page.
They have also set up a GoFundMe page to buy baseball bucks, so that Kayla’s guests can get some snacks or a souvenir at the game.