Fort Pierce, FL - March 6, 2017 - While pregnant with their second child Chris and Natasha Santoro were walking through a sporting goods store. Still without a name for their soon to be baby boy, Chris, a former baseball player started rattling off outside of the box name’s: Cleat, for the shoes that ball players wear, Louie for the baseball bat manufacturer Louisville Slugger, Wilson and Rawlings for the gloves and balls players use. Every name that Chris would spit out, Natasha would shake her head and roll her eyes back.
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| Fort Pierce Central Freshman Easton Santoro really is a true champion! |
“What have I gotten myself into”, the young mother chuckled as she recalled the story years later.
Finally, as they were walking past a display of metal bats they both looked at each other when they saw the name of the manufacturer – Easton. They both fell in love with the name and so it was decided that there soon to be child would be named after the world-famous baseball bat manufacturer.
The love for their child’s name led to the love that only a mother and father can have when their child was born. And soon after deciding on his name young Easton came into the world.
Would Easton grow up to be a baseball player? Would he take his name to heart?
While Chris and Natasha had no idea, what they did now was that no matter what their new baby boy decided to do with his life, what direction he chose or how he developed from a baby to a toddler to a preschooler to a teen and beyond, Easton was their child and they would love him unconditionally. Nothing could or would ever separate them from their love for their son.
So it’s no surprise that when baby Easton showed physical developmental signs as an infant, the Santoro’s stopped at nothing to try and wrap their hands around their baby’s development problem. Doctor after doctor, clinic after clinic, specialist after specialist the young mother and father went to only to receive the same answer time and time again for years upon years to follow.
Doctors had no clue what was wrong with their son, why he could not walk like others and why his speech seemed to be slurred at times. The conventional thinking was that Easton was born with Cerebral Palsy (CP), a disorder caused by brain injury or malformation that occurs while a child is under development which affects the movement of muscle coordination.
However, specialists ruled out CP and have been left baffled by Easton’s condition which can only be defined as an idiopathic muscle illness. Idiopathic meaning that Easton’s illness is of unknown cause.
While Easton’s illness may seem to be devastating, as he is confined to a walker, the young freshman at Fort Pierce Central High School does not let it stop him in anything he does. Although his life’s dream to be a professional baseball player for the New York Yankees will never come true due to his disability, Easton is perhaps one of the most ambitious children in St. Lucie County.
“Easton has always amazed me”, says Troy Ingersoll the Youth Minister at Westside Church on Jenkins Road in Fort Pierce.
“When he started coming to our youth group I used to try and anticipate how he might need my support. But what I have learned is that Easton wants to do everything that all the other children do – and he just does not seem to mind if he has to do it a little differently”, said Ingersoll.
And yet although Easton does have a disability that limits him physically and that does impact his speech, he is an exceptionally bright student. Enough so that the 15-year old has been an Honor Roll Student through middle school and now into high school.
And socially?
Easton is accepted just as any other student at Central and was while at Southern Oaks Middle School as well.
Perhaps it is the school system that has been a refuge of sorts to Easton and other children with disabilities. While private schools and taxpayer-funded charter schools are not required to accept students with a disability, traditional public schools do not have a choice. The must accept each and every child that applies no matter their individual circumstances.
“Our focus is to help people to fully understand that a disability doesn't define the person. The desire to participate in activities and live fully engaged lives is the same desire in every single person. Acceptance, inclusion and breaking down barriers to full access is what we do each and every day for individuals with disabilities. This is a true example of how the administration, faculty, and staff at Fort Pierce Central (and all other district schools) strive to provide equal opportunity to all children in both academic and non-academic environments and to provide them with the full high school experience”, says Bill Tomlinson, Executive Director of Exceptional Student Education and Student Services at the St. Lucie County School District.
Todd Smith, the longtime Principal of Fort Pierce Central High School has instilled the value of breaking down these barriers and accepting each child for who they are no matter what, into his administrative team and staff, just as every principal in the St. Lucie School District has done.
So it’s no wonder that when Central’s Head Baseball Coach Jeff Rymer learned of Easton’s story he invited him to toss out the first pitch at the Cobra’s home opener last Wednesday.
The smile on Easton’s face was from ear to ear as he took to the mound and threw a strike to waiting catcher Brett Oliver, a Senior and Co-Captain of this year’s team, who then presented Easton with a ball signed by the team!
Perhaps E. Wayne Gent, the Superintendent of St. Lucie County Public Schools, who is a former teacher and coach puts it best when he says, “Easton is a true champion – elevating others to higher standards and expectations through his own perseverance to achieve his goals and pursue his dreams. Everybody has something to offer - their talents are their gifts”.
And thankfully for our community, Chris and Natasha Santoro have been unselfish in sharing their very own boy wonder with us. Because little do they know we can all learn a thing or two from this remarkable family that calls St. Lucie County home!
