Gage Dugan

Seven-year-old Gage Dugan loves to play baseball on the Britton’s Bullpen team from Olney, IL. In December of 2012 Gage was diagnosed with osteosarcoma in his shin bone and has been in remission since 2015. However, in 2014 he was diagnosed with cryopyrin-associated autoinflammatory syndrome, also known as CAPS, which makes him very susceptible to illness, sometimes requiring hospital visits. Wearing a medical mask helps alleviate being prone to illness, however, Gage wanted nothing to do with the mask and his parents had a hard time getting him to wear it.

This is where his baseball coach, Phil Britton stepped in. He asked him what it would take for him to wear the mask, to which he answered “if Adam Wainwright signed my mask I would wear it.” Coach Britton reached out to the Foundation, who sent a box of masks to Adam Wainwright at his home in Georgia in the off-season. Adam not only signed all the masks, he included a baseball with the scripture Acts 20:24 “But my life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus—the work of telling others the Good News about the wonderful grace of God.”

When Gage started wearing the mask autographed by his hero Wainwright, he gained weight and was eating and feeling healthy again. Gage is excited to play baseball this summer and even stopped by the Foundation to donate his chore money to Homers for Health! Coach Britton and Gage’s parents, Derrick and Kendra are so grateful that Adam took the time to sign the masks and baseball and overnight them back to Gage. They hope Gage can use this as an example going forward to make someone’s life a little brighter!