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West Gardiner boy to throw out 1st pitch at Fenway

By Gary Hawkins ghawkins@centralmaine.com
Staff Writer

BY GARY HAWKINS

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THE WINDUP: Jackson Hickey, 11, will throw out the first pitch Tuesday night at Fenway Park with his family. Mom Jayne, sister Emma, brother Kyle and father David (not shown) will watch Jackson as part of disability awareness night at the Fenway.

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Staff Writer

Jackson Hickey will be on the mound Tuesday night at Fenway Park, not as a replacement for the battered Red Sox staff but to throw out the first pitch.

The 11-year-old from West Gardiner will be center stage on disability awareness night prior to Boston's game against Tampa Bay. Jackson's mother, Jayne, entered her son's name into a contest promoted by Exceptional Parents Magazine and got a response within 24 hours.

"I filled out (a form) and I saw the Red Sox were an option," she said. "I said 'I'd really like to make his dream come true.' "

The magazine honors a special family each year and selected the Hickeys for their compelling story.

The trip to Fenway will be Jackson's first. He was born with Down Syndrome and diagnosed with autism at age 5. Like the rest of his family he's an avid Red Sox fan and reacted with joy when he heard of his trip to the game about a month ago.

"The night we told him about it he went and got his Red Sox shoes and his hat," Jayne said.

The game will also serve as a reunion of sorts for the family. Jackson's dad, David, is a colonel in the Air Force and deployed at the Pentagon. He plans to fly up for the game. Oldest son Kyle, a recent Gardiner Area High School graduate and headed for Norwich University on an ROTC scholarship, will attend as will Emma, who just graduated from the seventh grade.

"I can count on one hand the last two years when all five of us have done something together," Jayne said.

A few months ago, Jackson couldn't have considered attending Tuesday night's events. He underwent surgery in January to correct a large gap between the chambers of his heart known as an Atrial Septal Aneurysm. He was drooping or nodding off during the day and his parents didn't know why. About 50 percent of kids with Down Syndrome have heart defects but TIA as its known was totally unrelated to Jackson's condition and generally affects older people.

"It took many doctors looking at things (to find it)," his mother said. "He's the best he's been in a long time. He is healthy."

Jackson was healthy enough to have his first-ever birthday party in April with a dozen friends at Helen Thompson School in West Gardiner.

"He has an amazing group of classmates who have embraced him," Jayne said.

David Hickey graduated in 1984 from Gardiner where he played football, basketball and track. He's been in the Air Force for 22 years and 14 deployments, including two in the Middle East and is awaiting orders for No. 15. After years on the road, the family settled in West Gardiner four years ago to provide a stable environment.

It served all three children well. Kyle played soccer and track in high school and plans to play soccer at Norwich while Emma plays soccer, basketball and track. The family is a team of its own and has thrown its support behind Jackson.

"It's been a roller coaster," Jayne said. "We've kind of had some tough times."

Those tough times have made the family stronger, though. Jayne said her two older children have some amazing characteristics.

"Having a brother like Jackson is the only way you'd develop them," she said.

It also helps them appreciate special moments like Tuesday night.

"The look on his face, I can't wait to see that," his mother said.

Gary Hawkins -- 621-5638

ghawkins@centralmaine.com