(L to R) Major League Baseball Umpires Alex MacKay, Jim Wolf, Roberto Ortiz and Alan Porter take time out to lift the spirits of Kainin and his family before an Atlanta Braves game earlier this summer.
UMPS CARE Charities is celebrating its 20th Anniversary this year. On the 20th of each month, we will share some stories and memories of the charity. This is the second installation in our series about the charity over the past two decades.
Back on January 29, Kainin Smith lived life as he always did like any other typical 9-year-old boy. Football, basketball and baseball are all his sports, but of the three, baseball is king and the only sport in which he plays at the travel level.
But life threw him and his family a curveball on January 30, when he woke up with pneumonia. No one could have imagined how much this family’s life would change in the ensuing days. By February 1, Kainin had difficulty walking. Four days later, he couldn’t move his eyes and he couldn’t walk.
Kainin went from being a three-sport athlete to being diagnosed with Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) and requiring a wheelchair in less than a week. Guillain-Barré syndrome is a rare neurological disease that triggers muscle weakness, essentially attacking your immune system. While there is no cure, some patients are able to resume walking in six months. Kainin does not just want to walk again; he wants to return to the baseball diamond.
The baseball community in his hometown of Marion, Arkansas, not far from Memphis, has rallied its support for Kainin. As luck would have it, Lathan The Kid Umpire – an 11-year-old social media influencer – was in Memphis making an appearance at a tournament in late May raising funds for Kainin’s medical needs.
Lathan wound up working the plate for Kainin’s team, and the two began messaging each other. Lathan’s dad, Josh Williams, reached out to UMPS CARE and asked if the charity could do anything special for Kainin while he was in Atlanta undergoing treatment. Kainin had no idea what was happening behind the scenes, only that he desperately wanted to be on a baseball field again.
Kainin with Lathan The Kid Umpire at a fundraising tournament to support Kainin’s medical bills earlier this year
The first time Kainin walked was on June 30 – a month after he met Lathan and the same day he and his family got to see their beloved Atlanta Braves. He walked a total of 80 feet that day, slowly and in increments, but it was a huge milestone for this young boy.
After his physical therapy session, he was so excited to go to his first Braves game. He was thrilled to get to watch his favorite player, second baseman Ozzie Albies, from the Truist Park stands. His parents, Raven and Kelan, didn’t tell him there would be more to come.
As a Braves representative escorted the family onto an elevator, and that’s when Kainin found out he would be going onto the field.
“We waited until the last minute to tell him,” said Kainin’s mom, Raven. “He was so surprised. He could not believe it.”
But there was more to come.
Waiting for him was the Major League Baseball Umpire crew of Alan Porter, Jim Wolf, Roberto Ortiz and Alex MacKay. The heat was sweltering, and umpires were fretting, trying to find some cool spot for the family.
“But he wasn’t worried about the heat at all,” Raven said. “He just said, ‘Mom, this is so cool. These are the MLB Umpires.’ ”
The visit did not last long, but the impact did. Kainin’s eyes were on the umpires the entire game, from the moment they took the field to the moment they left. Since UMPS CARE began 20 years ago, Major League Baseball Umpires have been hosting meet and greets at ballparks across the country and in Canada. To date, nearly 11,000 children and members of military families have enjoyed these visits.
“This is what it’s all about,” Josh Williams said. “I told Lathan, ‘What you do is important. It grows the game, shows the umpires aren’t the enemy and you had connections to UMPS CARE and were able to help Kainin with this once-in-a-lifetime experience.”
“I’m sure the only thing that’s on his mind is to get back on the field right now,” he added, “and the rest of us take that for granted.”
On July 2, Kainin completed his final physical therapy session in Atlanta, and his family rented a larger car so they could load his power wheelchair and bring it back to their home in Arkansas. One day, they hope, he won’t need it anymore. But that day is not today.
The family wants Kainin to recover but they also want to raise awareness for Guillain-Barré syndrome.
“Don’t wait too long to get checked if you are not feeling well,” Raven said.
As challenging and as heartbreaking as this journey has been, there have been some bright spots, and meeting the Major League Baseball Umpires tops that list for Kainin.
“All of this has motivated him to work even harder,” Raven said. “Every day he wakes up and tells me, ‘I’m going to walk today.’ ”
Special thanks to the MLB Umpires who participated in this event and to the Atlanta Braves for generously providing tickets and field access for Kainin and his family. Find out how you can make a difference for Kainin and other families by donating to support our ticket program.
Kainin loves football, basketball and baseball, but baseball is his true passion, and he hopes to return to the diamond soon.
Meeting the MLB Umpire crew on the field will be a special memory for Kainin and his family.
Kainin and his sister had a blast at the Atlanta Braves game – their first time at a Major League Baseball ballpark!