Opening Day runner, 10, knows the meaning of endurance

By MOLLY YANITY
P-I REPORTER

When Ryan Schroeder runs the bases at Safeco Field Monday before the Mariners' game against the Oakland Athletics, he is going to have to pace himself.

He is used to this routine -- not running 360 feet in front of 40,000 people as part of a seven-year Mariners tradition, but the pacing.


		Meryl Schenker / P-I
	Ryan Schroeder, 10, of Maple Valley, was chosen by the Make-A-Wish Foundation to run the bases before today's game at Safeco Field. Ryan has a complex congenital heart disease.

Ryan, 10, of Maple Valley, has a complex congenital heart disease that saps his endurance. But when Ryan took off from the batter's box in a practice run Friday afternoon, he found a steady pace and made it all the way around without a break.

After he crossed the plate, Ryan took a knee and breathed heavily through his purple lips. But he never stopped smiling.

"If he went out too fast, too quick, he'd have to stop at second base and take a break," said Ryan's father, Drew. "I was worried, but that was perfect -- a good pace."

The Mariners and the Make-A-Wish Foundation have teamed up to provide the opportunity for an area youngster since Opening Day of the 2000 season.

Trina Cottingham, a wish manager for the foundation, said choosing Ryan for the run around the bases -- at about 3:30 p.m., shortly before the first pitch -- was easy.

"He just loves sports. He plays everything he can and just loves life," Cottingham said.

The foundation works with doctors and hospitals to select children to whom to grant wishes. The run around the bases is not a specific wish, but an "enhancement" to sports-related wishes, Cottingham said.

The main blood vessels going into Ryan's heart are reversed, limiting the amount of oxygen in his blood. Without enough oxygen, he tires quickly. His circulation is also poor, making him cold often and taking the color from his lips.

Ryan needs a heart transplant but is not yet on a donor list, his father said, because his quality of life is still reasonably good.

That shows, too.

Ryan, a slight fifth-grader, beamed throughout the practice run. He proudly showed off the Mariners jersey that bears his name and favorite number -- five. He and three of his cousins checked out the dugouts and climbed into the Diamond Club seats from the field.

He talked about playing baseball himself -- he is a left-handed pitcher and said his favorite Mariner is Ichiro Suzuki.

He plays soccer, too, but is relegated to goal-keeping because he can't run throughout a game. Football is his favorite sport -- he's a Philadelphia Eagles fan. He can't play football, however, but he is getting into golf. "A nice, relaxing sport," Drew Schroeder said.

One of Ryan's favorite athletes is his older sister, Taylor, 14, who plays volleyball, basketball, soccer and softball.

"She sees what he has to do on a daily basis and what she's able to do, so she is really excited for him," Drew Schroeder said. "We all are. It's pretty cool."