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Conquering Life's Curves Conquering Life's Curves By Lou Parrotta I just finished reading a terrific baseball memoir that turned out to be much more than what life is like for a ballplayer as they rise through the ranks of the minor leagues all the way up to "the show." No, this book contains dozens of stories of how baseball was just one facet of what eventually became an inspiring life. The book, Conquering Life's Curves, written by former New York Met and Kansas City Royal Ed Hearn, begins as any autobiography does. It takes the reader through Hearn's early days growing up with a dad who pushed him to excel and the successes he achieved while in high school. It talks of how the Philadelphia Phillies recruited and signed him as a result of that success, and then his voyage through the minors, until being traded to the New York Mets to become a back up to future Hall-of-Famer Gary Carter. The story reaches one of its first peaks when Hearn tells of the magical 1986 World Championship season the Mets had and how he received a World Series ring for his efforts. At the time he thought that would be his greatest achievement in life Boy, was he wrong. After being traded to the Kansas City Royals following the 1986 season, in a deal that would send David Cone to the Mets and start Cone on his magical baseball ride, Hearn experienced some shoulder problems. He was never really the same again. After surgery and rehabilitation, Hearn tried to resurrect his career only to fail. This was unimportant, really, because his health had taken a turn for the worse. It seems he was having some kidney troubles and eventually would need a kidney transplant. When an 18-year-old boy was killed in a car accident, his parents honored the boy's wishes by donating his organs. Hearn received one of the boy's kidneys and thought all would be fine afterwards. Well, after battling depression at great depths and other physical ailments associated with organ and tissue transplant surgery, Hearn found out his wife was pregnant and that snapped him out of his funk. With tremendous help from his wife, a spouse everyone dreams about, and good, strong friends, Hearn resumed his post-baseball career as an insurance salesman. He also was introduced to a new career as a motivational speaker, as numerous groups wanted to hear his message of triumph over illness. This is how I met Ed Hearn. Three weeks ago I heard him speak in Cooperstown at an open-air service for the Salvation Army. While the book only tells of one transplant, Hearn has since had two more and is now walking around with a total of FIVE! You see, they never take the suckers out - they just keep adding them! Well, the way he spoke about his ordeals, not one ordeal but a total of three so far, and how he spoke of his loving family and his faith in God, truly inspired the 200 or so people that were gathered around. He was awesome and so was his book. I urge you to get a copy as soon as you can and be as inspired as I have been since I finished reading it. Ed Hearn may not be a Hall of Famer, but in life's Hall of Fame he certainly has secured a spot. His work on behalf of Organ & Tissue Donation is amazing, and I urge everyone to consider the fact that you, too, can save someone's life upon your death; you can live on in this earth even after you are gone. Give organ donation some thought, as there is always someone in need. http://www.thediamondangle.com/archive/aug03/hearn.html .
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