By JULIE SPRING, T-R Staff Writer
Copyright ©2003 The Times Reporter
Dover-New Philadelphia, Ohio

Life frequently has a way of throwing a curve ball. For Jim Graef of Dover, it?s a fast-pitch softball.

Whatever the speed, Graef can swing at anything. Batting one thousand in an eight-year bout against his toughest offender, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, better known as Lou Gehrig?s disease, Jim Graef reigns as the hero of the Dover Girls Softball League.

League commissioner since the 2000 season, Graef is devoted to the success of the growing youth softball program.

For Graef, the last three years have consisted of field improvements, equipment updates, practices, games and tournaments.

Intermittent hospital stays, increasing spells of weakness and occasional trouble with breathing and swallowing have not forced Graef to retire to the sidelines.

Praised by many for his invaluable involvement and commitment to the program, Graef said, ?It?s my therapy.?

ALS, a degenerative nerve disease that inhibits and eventually eliminates all motor functions, has become an accepted addition to Graef?s life after being diagnosed Feb. 13, 1995. While the road ahead looks grim, Graef surges forward with optimism.

?People want to know why I?m so upbeat,? said Graef. ?I am here, so I am upbeat.?

Unable to work or drive a car, Graef does whatever he can to make ends meet.

?The disease itself is not what?s going to kill me,? he said. ?It?s fighting for everything that I need to keep myself going and learning to say that I need help. That?s the hardest thing for me to do.?

Remarkably, Graef continues to beat the odds. When diagnosed eight years ago, he was given a two- to five-year life expectancy. A single father of three teenage daughters, Graef, 44, attributes his health to the joy he derives in living each new day.

According to his oldest daughter Nikki, 19, Graef cherishes each new day because each new day is filled with the joys of softball.

?I just love it,? Graef responded with a smile. ?I love the girls and I love seeing them improve year to year, game to game, practice to practice. You can?t trade that for anything.?

Graef?s passion for the game hasn?t gone unnoticed.

?His spirit is just tremendous,? said Mike Edwards, who has known Graef since high school and serves as the softball league treasurer.

?Jim is the backbone of the whole group,? said Rick Stilgenbauer, league secretary. ?He?s what holds us all together.?

With 260 girls between the ages of 7 and 14 making up the 28 teams in the Dover program, those involved can?t help but acknowledge his commitment.

?I guess the program before Jim stepped in wasn?t half of what it is now,? said Hennis Care Centre Coach Tim Larkin. Larkin, who has been part of the program for two years and coaches a 12-and-under travel team with Graef, said Graef?s drive to remain an integral part of Dover softball is noteworthy.

?He never uses his condition as an excuse not to do things,? said Larkin. ?If he wasn?t putting in the time, I don?t know who would. It would take several committees to replace him.?

This devotion coupled with Graef?s optimistic, upbeat outlook on life eclipses the emotional strain many would expect from a man battling a terminal illness.

?It?s amazing the people that say they never knew I had it,? said Graef.

The only physical signs marking the onset of ALS-related symptoms are Graef?s black leg braces necessary for support. He also relies on more than 20 pills a day, including Rilutek, an ALS medication that costs $1,000 a month.

Even when Graef is enduring one of his weeklong hospital stays at St. Rita?s Medical Center at Lima, he is never far from the softball diamond. Graef suffered a serious spell in June and returned to Lima for the second time in less than six months for a round of intense steroid treatments used to prolong his endurance against the deterioration of motor functions.

Instead of allowing the episode to get the best of him, Graef used the telephone to coach his softball team from a hospital bed.

?It keeps me busy,? said Graef. ?That?s what I need.?

?It doesn?t matter that he?s sick, said Lacey Byrom, 13, pitcher for the traveling team. ?He?s still the same old Jim.?

?I know it doesn?t affect me because when I first met him I didn?t even realize he had anything wrong,? said Andrea Larkin, 12, who plays with Byrom on the traveling team. ?I know he has the disease but he makes the best of everything.?

Graef says his optimism is the key to overcoming ALS.

?You learn to appreciate every day that you have ? every day that you?re able to do something,? said Graef. ?I never look at defeat. I don?t want it to defeat me.?

Behind his determination is a caring support system of family members.

?I think one of the best things that happened was his dad retired the year before (he was diagnosed),? Jim?s mother, Jacque Graef, said. James F. Graef, Jim?s father, has helped him manage the physical restraints of the illness.

The elder Graefs said they are grateful for their son and live each day impressed by how he does what he does.

?I view James not only as my big brother, but also as a mentor,? said his sister, Annette Graef. ?He has displayed great ability to handle being a single father raising three girls by himself and maintain strength through his battle with ALS.?

Graef?s biggest fans, however, are his daughters.

?There?s never one day that goes past where he isn?t doing something to keep himself motivated,? said Nikki, who plans to attend the Tuscarawas Campus of Kent State University in the fall.

?He is very open with us about it,? said Christin, 17, who will be a senior at Dover High. ?He always gives us an answer so that?s what helps us through it.

The three sisters agreed that they couldn?t get through this if they didn?t have each other.

?It?s made them very strong,? said Graef.

?If something goes wrong, we always get together and talk about it first,? said Jessica, 15, who played softball for her dad and will be a sophomore at Dover High. ?It makes it a lot easier because I know what?s going to happen.?

The Graef family mentioned that while they have learned to cope with the disease, others find themselves very uncomfortable with the matter.

?Don?t be afraid to talk to me,? said Graef. ?Ask me anything.?

?You?ll notice he?ll laugh when people ask him questions,? said James Graef. ?He deals with people with no problem.?

?He knows that something is going to come out of this that is good,? said Jessica.

While Graef?s mother remains just as optimistic as the rest of the family, at times she gives in to maternal emotion.

?It?s hard to see one of your children given a death penalty,? said Jacque as she fought back tears. ?I wonder why sometimes.?

?I know why,? Graef responded without a moment of hesitation. ?It was so I could raise my three girls. I want to be able to walk them down the aisle. That?s been my motivation.?