Tacoma Rainiers help a young baseball fan

Dreams come true for Pierce County boy

Nine-year-old Ollie Strode walked to the pitcher’s mound unassisted, as he threw the first pitch of the game on Aug. 21.

TACOMA, Wash. - One step at a time, a dream came true for one Pierce County boy during a Tacoma Rainiers baseball game.

Nine-year-old Ollie Strode walked to the pitcher’s mound unassisted, as he threw the first pitch of the game on Aug. 21.

Hitting this milestone was no small feat for Ollie. He was born with several health conditions, including hydrops fetalis. It is extreme swelling caused by fluid buildup in the organs and tissues.

His doctors said this diagnosis has about a 10% survival rate for the first 24 hours after birth.

His rare survival of hydrops fetalis was put to another test, as he spent one month on ECMO, the highest level and most aggressive form of life support.

"He’s kept us on our toes. He has scared us to death more than once. There’s been a lot of ups and downs with him," said Tina Mattingly, one of Ollie’s nurses at MultiCare Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital in Tacoma.

In the hospital for three months, nurses were the only people by Ollie’s side caring for him as their own. That is until Valentine’s Day weekend in 2015, when Sarah Strode met baby Ollie for the first time.

"A couple of days later, I brought three of our girls and his dad sent a heart-shaped balloon, and we tied it to his crib. And I have a picture of the three little girls standing in front of his crib and Ollie just staring up at his balloon. And it was the most precious thing ever," said Strode.

The family adopted Ollie, and all his health challenges, with compassion and love.

He turned that love into a Valentine’s Day tradition, by sharing balloons and cards with nurses and children at the hospital every year. FOX 13 met Ollie in 2022, when he was 7 years old, during his annual delivery.

The family’s journey through the years recently stepped into unthinkable territory: Ollie is learning to walk. Every week, twice a week, Ollie is in physical therapy at Mary Bridge Children's Therapy Services in Puyallup. He is recovering from extensive surgery in June 2023 on both of his legs attributed to cerebral palsy.

"So, they took a bone from this foot and placed it to that foot," Ollie explained.

"They rerouted a muscle. They gave him releases in his Achilles, calves, hamstrings and I think he had 12 to 16 incisions on his legs," said Strode. "He was in the hospital for a few days. He’s never been in that amount of pain before, that was actually really hard to see."

Timothy Spurrier, Doctor of Physical Therapy, has been working step by step with Ollie for the last 10 months, with and without his walker.

"For most of his walking, he’ll walk with his crocodile walker for longer distances because he gets some back pain, but that’s a big improvement," said Spurrier.

"The look on his face after he’s accomplished something new, that is so ingrained in my mind, because I see the pride he has for himself," said Strode. "To see him up and walking it really is quite miraculous."

It’s a miracle considering Strode was expecting a wheelchair to be Ollie’s only avenue of mobility.

"We are just over a year from his surgery, and he is up on his feet. He is walking for the first time unassisted. Just today he hit a record of over 200 steps, which is the first time in his entire life, and he’s almost 10 years old," said Strode.

Achieving this goal caught the attention of the Tacoma Rainiers. Ollie, his family, friends, and medical team were invited to join them for a night at the ballpark.

"He loves baseball. His heart is in baseball. And he always every time he comes here, he talks to me about how the Mariners are doing and the Rainiers games that he goes to," said Spurrier.

The Rainiers gave Ollie the VIP treatment, letting his feet hit the dirt to meet the team in the dugout. From the autographs, to trading baseball cards, and finally inviting him to throw the first pitch, the Rainiers pulled all the stops to make sure his visit to Cheney Stadium was a home run.

"With Oliver, it’s always been baby steps forward, and now we’re just sort of seeing him take off, and it is so, oh it gives me goosebumps, it’s so exciting to see, because you can see the pride in his face too," said Strode.

Defeating the odds and surviving the impossible. All of life’s obstacles, challenges, even curveballs, and still, Ollie’s family said he is proving there is no limit to achieving a goal. All it takes is heart.

"The possibilities are endless for this kid, like he can do whatever he sets his heart to," said Strode.

The next big step for Ollie: he is starting third grade and will be celebrating his 10th birthday in October.

Strode said of her son, "He is the most amazing kid."