The Chicago Bulls may be struggling to make a playoff berth, but the franchise came through in buzzer-beating fashion Monday for a Niles fifth-grader who was hospitalized not long ago at Advocate Children’s Hospital in Park Ridge.
Guard Alex Caruso and forward Javonte Green, along with Bulls mascot Benny the Bull, surprised 10-year-old Ben Krueger, a huge Bulls fans, at his basketball practice at Golf View Recreation Center in Niles.
Krueger got over the initial shock of meeting his heroes, then doubled his excitement by learning he and his family will join Caruso and Green on the team plane Sunday on an all-expenses-paid round trip for the team’s road stop in Philadelphia.
Parents Kenny and Cristina Krueger were hard-pressed to keep the secret from their son and his 7-year-old sister Katie. They came up with a creative explanation that the presence of four TV stations, photographers and about 150 spectators in time for Ben’s practice was the filming of a commercial. Kenny Krueger serves as the Niles Park District’s athletic director and Ben’s coach.
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“Ben was in shock, he was crying,” said his father.
“All we know is we’re leaving on Sunday morning to board with the team at O’Hare, and will stay at the same hotel as the Bulls. We’ll be going to the team practice, Monday night’s game and flying back home afterward.”
The Kruegers’ story came to the attention of Advocate Children’s Hospital’s charity team. When Ben was just 5 months old, he suffered a stroke and seizure that left him with long-term left-side weakness. Although he recovered to a good degree over the years and attends Culver School in Niles, Ben suffered a seizure due to complications from meningitis in December. He was hospitalized for 11 days, fortunate to get home just before Christmas.
“I have been taking care of Ben since he was five months old,” said Dr. Farha Tokarz, a pediatric neurologist with Advocate Children’s Hospital. “He and his family have come such a long way since his diagnosis. His recent setback has been very difficult for them, but they have again shown us that with faith and determination they can overcome anything.”
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Kenny Krueger said while his son was hospitalized, his speech and physical therapists wrote a letter of recommendation to Advocate’s charity arm, which runs several special programs for patients. The letter included Ben’s love of the Bulls.
Cristina Enea, director, brand partnerships for Advocate Aurora Health, called Kenny Krueger to inform him of a chance to meet the Bulls.
“We threw out ideas about the players coming to school or our house,” said Krueger. “But we agreed to have them come to an actual practice. I told her I could schedule practice anytime for the (Bulls) players’ schedules.”
The Kruegers had to keep a secret from Ben while informing scores of people in the Park District’s youth basketball family.
“Even the kids on the team, I asked them to have their parents available,” said Kenny Krueger. “I told them the day before.”
He began practice at 5:50 p.m. Monday with the secret still intact. About a half-hour in, Krueger told the kids to take a water break. Then, as their scrimmage was about to start, in ran Caruso, Green and Benny the Bull.
“Our coaches will be Alex and Javonte,” Krueger told the youth players. “They were ecstatic about it. Every kid wanted to score, everyone wanted to be on TV. The kids were going hard. They made sure Ben was the point guard so he handled the ball. He sunk a free throw.”
There was no question Ben would return to basketball after his recent hospitalization.
“He’s been playing with the same group of kids for the last couple of years,” Krueger said. “He can play basketball normally. We just monitor him. He can play basketball one-handed, with his right side. Ben plays both soccer and basketball. Because of the stroke with the left-side weakness, he can’t play anything using both hands like baseball, or contact sports where there’s any chance for an injury to his head.
“But he’s not a kid who says he can’t do it. His buddies support him, give him easier passes, bounce passes. Ben has limitations long-term. For everything he’s been through, doing therapy for 10 years, his core is strong.”
Katie Krueger, 7, a Culver second-grader, also plays basketball, and the siblings cheer each other on. But their father says the Philadelphia trip is as much to his wife’s credit as it is to Ben’s.
“Their mom is the rock of the family,” Krueger said. “She put her career on hold, took him to therapy, and did therapy at home. Ben really got the big surprise with the trip, but give credit to Cristina.”