The Rice baseball team unknowingly gained a special fan during its game against Sam Houston State Feb. 20.
Watching the game from her room on the 23rd floor of the Texas Children’s Hospital that night was Jaelyn Kirby, a 16-year-old patient who was getting treatment for Marfan syndrome, a rare genetic condition she was diagnosed with three years ago.
After a family member shared a photo on X (formerly known as Twitter) of Jaelyn watching the Owls intently from her room, members of the Rice community rushed to connect with the family to show support.
Once Rice baseball’s J.D. McCracken, Kyte McDonald and Parker Smith caught wind of the post, they contacted the Kirby family and were able to set up a time to pay Jaelyn a visit before the team left town for its next game. The Owls brought over a baseball signed by the entire team, a Rice jersey, a hat, another baseball signed by head coach Jose Cruz Jr. and a card.
“I had never felt so much love and encouragement in my life,” Jaelyn said. “I am just so grateful that they took the time and effort to visit me in the hospital, which will stick with me forever. They could have just sent me a message, but they showed up with smiles and gifts during a scary time for me.”
Smith said he and his teammates were just as moved by Jaelyn as she was by them.
“It’s inspirational,” Smith said. “It was just nice to help someone out that’s going through a tough time. To put a smile on her face and give her something else to think about other than what she’s going through — at the end of the day, that was really the end-all, be-all.”
“At the end of the day, she’s the one who’s going through way more than me. I just get to play a game that I love,” McCracken said. “So I think it’s just awesome that it gave her something to hold on to for courage and gave her a break from the harsh reality that’s getting treatment.”
Living with Marfan syndrome means missing out on a lot of things for Jaelyn — activities, sports or just being able to get out of bed some days. But baseball has served as a powerful distraction, she said.
“Being able to watch the ballgame with my family and not think once of the 4-day-old IV in my arm, or the beeping of my heart monitor, was like a heavy weight lifted off my shoulders,” she said.
“No parent ever wants to see their child in pain, but her mom, stepdad, my wife and I were so grateful to see the elation on Jaelyn’s face when she was being shown the love by the student-athletes, faculty and staff of the Rice athletic department,” said Ryan Kirby, Jaelyn’s father. “A true team has heart and soul, and I could not be more appreciative of the amazing physicians at TCH for what they did to treat my daughter’s heart and the good people of Rice University who helped uplift our weary souls.”
Already an avid baseball-watcher and Houston Astros fan, Jaelyn now considers herself a lifelong Owls fan.
“Moving forward, I am proud to consider myself as a Rice fan,” she said. “I will forever cheer them on at the ballpark and will force my future kids to be fans too.”
Shaine Morris, medical director for cardiovascular genetics at TCH, has been treating Jaelyn since 2020 and says she has become an outstanding advocate for the rare condition.
“As her physician, it was a special experience to see Jaelyn’s spirits lifted so immensely during her recent hospital stay,” Morris said. “The Texas Children’s heart team will definitely be watching Rice Baseball from our windows.”
Jaelyn and her family plan to attend a home game next weekend during Rice’s three-game series against Stanford University, following the Walk for Victory benefiting the Marfan Foundation. They hope to watch the Owls capture another win as the last game they watched was the team’s first victory of the season.
Anyone interested in supporting others with Marfan syndrome can donate to the Marfan Foundation at Give.Marfan.org.