The day before the Fourth of July, 10 year old Caladen and his family watched a spectacular fireworks display, from the outfield at the Oakland A’s Coliseum.
It was the culmination of a magical wish day for the young fan. Caladen had asked to meet the A’s Josh Reddick for his wish, and ended up chatting with him and posing for pictures, even letting the player try on his own special A’s hat, which is covered in pins.
Caladen, his two sisters, and parents started the day with gift bags from the A’s organization, which was followed by batting practice. When Josh Reddick came over, Caladen was prepared with some written questions. Says his mom, Christina, “It was a good thing that Caladen wrote his questions down in a notebook ahead of time because he became tongue twisted!” After spending some time talking to Josh, Caladen got a surprise. Player Sam Fuld came over to meet them and they discovered the two had something in common! Like Caladen, Sam had been diagnosed with diabetes just a few months before turning 10 (although not the life-threatening form that Caladen has), and they talked about how it was a life-changing event for Sam. Christina described him as “very warm and welcoming” and said that “Josh was a really great person and all three of the kids are still talking about him. I cannot express my thanks enough to you.”
