Community Corner
13-Year-Old Transplant Patient Throws First Pitch at Dodger Game
Joey Green is an eighth-grade honor student at James A. Foshay Learning Center and a member of a Culver City youth baseball team.
LOS ANGELES (CNS) - A 13-year-old transplant patient from Compton threw the ceremonial first pitch today as the Los Angeles Dodgers conducted Little Dodger Fan Day at Dodger Stadium.
Joey Green was born prematurely at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. He was diagnosed with kidney failure when he was four days old and received a kidney in a transplant when he was 3 years old, according to a hospital official.
Although Joey continues to experience fragile bones and other health problems related to his kidney disease, he is an eighth-grade honor student at James A. Foshay Learning Center in South Los Angeles, a member of a Culver City youth baseball team called the Dodgers, plays soccer and sings in Project Harmony, a community choir.
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"Everybody loves Joey," said Dr. Dechu Puliyanda, director of pediatric nephrology at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. "Despite his height, he stands tall in front of millions, be it with his talent for singing or talking or just plain giggling. Nothing gets him down and he brings a smile to anyone who comes in contact with him."
-- City News Service, photo courtesy of the Los Angeles Dodgers
