Wyandotte Boy Throws Out 1st Pitch at Tigers Game

Six year-old Aidan LaForest of Wyandotte walked onto the field at Comerica Park on Monday night, knowing exactly how cool he is.

With the crowd cheering and the game about to begin, the first-grader used all the muscle he could muster to toss out the first pitch of the 7:05 p.m. Detroit Tigers vs. Toronto Blue Jays game.

After firing the pitch, Aidan was quick to praise the power of his little arm.

“I did the first pitch,” he said, smiling. “I did great out there.”

Aidan was born with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a condition that leaves the left side of the heart severely underdeveloped.

Jamie LaForest said her son underwent three open-heart surgeries before he was 2 years old. She said he also has endured three heart cauterizations, 11 months on oxygen and several emergency room visits in his young life. 

“The whole left side of his heart is so underdeveloped it doesn’t work,” she said. 

She said she was ecstatic when Bank of America officials offered her son the opportunity to throw out the first pitch at a Tigers game. Company representatives approached the family after Aidan was honored at a Make-A-Wish Foundation dinner, she said.

“He was so excited," Jamie said. "He told everybody; (his) whole school knew. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Aidan.”

In addition to having Aidan throw the first pitch, Bank of America representatives also gave the family four tickets to the game.

Jamie said the pregnancy with her son was “normal and healthy,” but problems quickly arose after his birth.

“Three hours after discharge, we were home and he was going into shock,” she said.

A doctor at Oakwood Hospital & Medical Center in Dearborn eventually diagnosed his condition after recognizing the symptoms.

Despite the severity of his condition, Aiden is expected to live a normal and healthy life, his mother said. He does, however, have several restrictions.

Contact sports are off limits, as well as anything else that could result in a blow to the chest. Extra precautions also are taken against him getting sick, such as staying indoors during cold weather and using hand sanitizer often.

Aidan takes several medications a day and frequently visits doctors and specialists for checkups. 

In addition to Aidan, Jamie and her husband, Kristopher, have two other children, both of whom were born healthy. They have a son, Gabriel, who is 5 years old, and a daughter, Isabelle, who is 1. 

On her Facebook page, Jamie sums up her feelings regarding Aidan's condition.

“We would never wish this heart journey on anyone,” she said. “However, we are grateful for the lessons that have been instilled; to love more, give more … and we're definitely more faithful.”

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